Georgia man shot dead by drug agents, who claim he pulled a gun

Agents of a drug squad fatally shot a man in a Georgia town after they said he pulled out a gun, authorities said Thursday.

Alfred Shawntez Cole, a 19-year-old Thomasville man, was shot by agents of the Thomas County Drug Squad, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release. The state agency is leading the inquiry into the shooting.

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The agents were searching a Thomasville neighborhood for another man with outstanding warrants for failing to appear in court when a Thomas County deputy asked officers to watch for a beige Toyota Camry driving erratically, the GBI said.

The agents spotted the car and tried to pull it over, but Cole sped up and got away, the GBI said. After a short chase, the Camry came to a stop near some woods. Police told investigators that Cole got out of the car and displayed a handgun, and that two drug squad agents then shot him.

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The Thomas County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that the agents first tried to shock Cole with a stun gun. After they shot him, they administered first aid and he was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Cole's gun was recovered and had previously been reported as stolen, the GBI said. His body is scheduled to undergo an autopsy. The district attorney will decide whether to seek criminal charges when the investigation is complete.

‘Jeopardy!’ producer discovered Alex Trebek ‘on the floor, crying in pain’ during cancer battle

Legendary "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek shocked millions of beloved fans with his announcement that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in 2019.

After Trebek revealed his cancer diagnosis, the one question on everyone’s mind was how he was going to carry on with his hosting duties as his health deteriorated. 

In the most recent episode of the "This is Jeopardy!" podcast, the game show's execs and Trebek’s family detailed some of their memories with the television icon leading up to his death. 

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Longtime supervising producer for "Jeopardy!" Rocky Schmidt recalled Trebek struggling to maintain his daily work routine during his cancer battle.

Schmidt said he would check in on Trebek between tapings and once found him in his dressing room, "on the floor, crying in pain." 

"When he was sick and taking medication… the pain the man had… you could watch him and it’s like ‘he’s not going to make it to the conference room table,’" Schmidt said, referring to the pre-game show meetings.

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He expressed his concerns about Trebek carrying on with the show as he fought through his condition.

"He would go get made up and ready for the show… everybody would look at each other and go, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to be taping today.’"

"Somehow he rallied," Schmidt remarked.

While fighting back tears, supervising producer Lisa Broffman recalled the moment Trebek announced he was suffering from his severe health condition.

"Alex called… and told us he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer," she began. 

"Alex, from the very beginning, said, 'This is not going to affect anything.'"

She noted that Trebek was in good spirits after the daunting diagnosis saying, "'I plan on fighting this. Let's get back to work.'"

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The official "Jeopardy!" Instagram page shared the revealing podcast interview on their social media.

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Trebek had hosted "Jeopardy!" since 1984 – for a total of 37 seasons. He presided over more than 8,000 episodes.

During his career, he received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host eight times for his work on "Jeopardy!"

His daughter, Emily, also shared on the podcast that, "there was no possibility of him not working," after his cancer diagnosis. 

"That was never an option," she said.

Trebek and his wife, Jean, tied the knot in 1990 and had three children – adopted daughter Nicky, 40, Emily, 30, and Matt, 33.

The beloved "Jeopardy!" host lost his 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer on Nov. 8, 2020.

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Following Trebek's death, a series of guest hosts filled in for him for his final "Jeopardy!" season.

In July 2022, Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings were announced as his co-successors and permanent hosts after they took turns for the show's 38th season.

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