Georgia rookie cop shot in the head in motel shooting is identified and due for surgery

A rookie Georgia police officer who was shot in the head in a motel shootout with a suspect on Tuesday night is ‘awake, alert and in good spirits’ as he awaits surgery at a hospital, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Covington Police Officer Rashad Rivers was scheduled to undergo jaw surgery on Thursday to repair damage from the gunshot wound, the Covington Police Department said. The officer was hit near the eye and the bullet lodged in his jaw, law enforcement sources told FOX5 Atlanta.

“We ask that you continue to hold Officer Rivers, his family, our family in town, and all public safety personnel who have been involved in your prayers as the healing process begins,” the department wrote on Facebook.

Rivers had responded to the OYO Hotel on Alcovy Road in Covington around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday for a reported fight between a couple.

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When the officer arrived, he saw a man, later identified as Treyvorius Stodghill, 23, with a gun in a room, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said.

Officers responded around 10:30 p.m. to reports of a couple fighting at the OYO Hotel on Alcovy Road in Covington, Georgia on Tuesday. (FOX5 Atlanta WAGA)

Stodghill exchanged gunfire with the officer and the officer was shot, according to the agency.

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As the suspect pointed a gun at the downed officer, a second officer returned fire, killing Stodghill, investigators said.

The GBI continues to investigate the shooting.

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Rivers joined the force in January after graduating from the police academy and winning the “Leadership Award” for his class, officials said.