Covington police officer shot while responding to domestic dispute to undergo surgery

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The Covington Police department says one of their officers “is awake, alert and in good spirits” after being shot while responding to a domestic dispute at a Newton County hotel Tuesday evening.

In a post on Facebook, the Covington Police Department identified the officer that was shot in the head as Officer Rashad Rivers.

The department goes on to say in the post he was ceremoniously sworn in to serve and protect Covington on January 3, 2023.

Officer Rivers is currently at Grady Hospital and is scheduled on Thursday to undergo surgery on his jaw following Tuesday’s shooting.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation says its preliminary information indicates the following:

The preliminary information indicates that Covington Police Department officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute at the My Home & Suites Hotel on Alcovy Road in Covington. The first officer saw a man, later identified as Treyvorius Stodghill, 23, of Covington, GA with a gun inside a room at the hotel. Stodghill exchanged gunfire with the officer and the officer was shot. A second responding officer arrived on the scene and saw Stodghill, who was pointing a gun at the officer who was down. Stodghill was shot and killed by a Covington Police Officer during the incident. The injured officer was taken to a trauma center for treatment.

Records show Treyvorius Stodghill is known to law enforcement and was charged with armed robbery in 2021.

Hotel guest Destiny Coggins says she was staying just a few doors down from the room where the deadly shooting took place.

“I’m shocked and scared because what if I had been hit by a bullet,” said Coggins. She said she heard arguing Tuesday night on the second-floor balcony.

Another hotel guest, Darrion Cowans, also said he heard a dispute Tuesday evening.

“We did hear the woman shouting stop and it looked like an altercation between the two, then we heard a couple of pushes and bumps.”

In the Facebook post from Covington Police, the department asks the community to continue to keep Officer Rivers, his family and all public safety personnel who were involved in your prayers.

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