Georgia man with AK-47 shot at utility workers restoring power, deputies say

The worker told the sheriff’s office that additional crews were needed to remove nearby trees so they could make repairs, but the suspect, identified as 56-year-old Bobby Allen Mashburn, started “giving them hell.” Eventually, one of the tree crew workers left because he didn’t feel comfortable around the suspect, deputies said.

Another utility worker said he then saw Mashburn with what appeared to be an AK-47 with an extended clip strapped to his back.

“If my power isn’t back on by dark, I’m going to start shooting people,” Mashburn told the workers, according to the report.

The worker said Mashburn fired four volleys of gunfire at the crew, with five to eight shots each time, according to the report.

A third co-worker told police he heard two volleys of gunfire, with three shots the first time and eight to 10 the second time.

According to the report, 911 calls were made about a man shooting a rifle at the utility workers trying to restore power. A dispatcher said the workers were “lying down on the ground to try to keep from getting shot,” according to the sheriff’s office.

When responding deputies arrived, the workers pointed up at a hill at the end of Bluebird Lane and told them a man there had an AK-47 and was shooting at them, the report stated. They didn’t have time to wait for backup because of the threat of gunfire, so the responding sergeant grabbed his rifle and started up the hill with another deputy, the sheriff’s office said. Eventually, they met with the suspect’s father, who said Mashburn was in a camper down a logging road. The suspect exited the home and was taken into custody.

At the scene, police said Mashburn smelled like alcohol and said things like: “Before we go, can y’all let me finish my whiskey?” and “Let’s go to the jail house, three hots and a cot.”

He also told his father he “tried to kill Mexicans,” according to the report. The father told deputies his son was “probably” firing the gun into the air.

During a search of the camper, a rusted SKS semiautomatic carbine was found, and an AK-47 was hanging on the back wall near the TV, the report stated. A sheriff’s office spokesperson told the AJC that Mashburn fired shots from the AK-47 and that 16 live rounds were found either in the rifle’s magazine or nearby.

The Lakemont man was booked into the county jail the same day on charges of reckless conduct, two counts of terroristic threats and two counts of aggravated assault, according to the sheriff.

“Threats or acts of violence toward utility workers or anyone performing essential services will not be tolerated in Rabun County,” Gerrells said. “These individuals are working to restore services and keep our community safe, and actions that place them in danger are taken very seriously.”

On the day of the shooting, the sheriff said more than 2,250 residents were still without power. That afternoon, Gerrells asked for patience amid a “time of crisis” and said linemen had arrived from Florida and Alabama to help out. But the process was slowed because many were forced to cut their way into and out of the affected areas, he said.

On Tuesday, deputies said it was unclear how many shots Mashburn actually fired.