Police searching for murder suspect in Skidaway Road area

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Chatham County Police Department is searching for a man wanted for a deadly shooting.

Police say the manhunt for the murder suspect is happening in the area of Bonna Bella Road, Skidaway Road, LaRoche Avenue and DeRenne Avenue.

Police say they are looking for 17-year-old Travis Washington. Police say Washington was involved in a shooting on Sept. 4 where the victim later died.

The Chatham County Police Department said the large-scale search for Washington has been called off, but they are still looking for him.

Chatham County Police Chief Jeff Hadley said officers arrived at a nearby apartment complex on Oak Forest Drive to serve a search warrant around 6 a.m. Thursday.

That’s when they realized Washington wasn’t there.

“We served a search warrant on a particular location at Oak Forest apartment complex, believing he was there. We executed that search warrant. That individual was not there, but through investigation and sources, we believe that he was in the area. He was aware of the search warrant, and one of our officers spotted him and that’s when he took off running,” Chief Hadley said.

That’s what led up to several agencies responding to the area, including an armored vehicle with people in tactical gear.

Several neighbors said police told them to remain inside Thursday morning and they also said that they believe they saw Washington walking in the area shortly after the manhunt got underway.

A woman claiming to be the victim’s mother said her son, 22-year-old Rashad Gooddine, was the person killed in the shooting on Sept. 4.

“He basically walked down the street to get his oldest son some snacks from the corner store, four streets down from where we live, and he was murdered,” Kristian Jackson said.

The Chatham County Police Department providing new details in the shooting, saying it did not appear to be random.

“It appeared to be somewhat of an ambush. It’s obviously very concerning. It was a targeted attack. The criminal investigations division has put a lot of time, energy, and effort into this case in the last seven days,” Chief Hadley said.

According to police, two nearby schools were placed on lockdown during the manhunt but were able to continue with normal operations later in the day.

Chief Hadley says police don’t believe Washington is still in this area. He said investigators are regrouping before continuing with their search, but he’s ultimately confident Washington will be caught.

“When I found out that he escaped, it was like a pain in my chest. I do believe the fine officers of Savannah, Georgia will catch him and bring him to justice, I do believe that,” Jackson said.

Police ask if anyone sees anything suspicious, call 911 right away.

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