Sheriff-elect shot dead in front of Atlanta home

Sheriff Brown

ATLANTA (CNN) -- DeKalb County Sheriff-elect Derwin Brown was gunned down in front of his home late Friday night after returning from an evening out with family and friends.

"Sheriff-elect Brown was gunned down in his driveway. He was gunned down with multiple large caliber weapons. Sheriff-elect Brown was assassinated in his front yard," said Thomas Brown, DeKalb County public safety manager.

The sheriff-elect's family had returned home before him and heard shots fired in the driveway.

Brown was pronounced dead shortly before midnight at DeKalb Medical Center, according to a nursing supervisor.

Thomas Brown said it was possible that more than one person was involved in the shooting.

The FBI, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the DeKalb County Police Department are working together on the case.

Brown was to have been sworn in Monday. He won the August election after a bitter campaign and runoff against Sheriff Sidney Dorsey.

Brown, 46, served in the DeKalb Police Department for 23 years where, most recently, he had risen to the rank of police captain.

He is survived by five children, ranging in age from 17 to 23.

DeKalb County Police Department
DeKalb County, Georgia

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