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Saturday December 16 11:22 AM ET
Ga. Sheriff-Elect Killed in Apparent Assassination

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia sheriff elected last month was shot to death outside his Atlanta home in a crime that bore the signs of a professional assassination, police said on Saturday.

Derwin Brown, 46, elected on Nov. 7 and due to be sworn in as DeKalb County Sheriff on Monday, was shot several times late Friday night after driving home from a bar where he and his family had celebrated the end of a sheriff's training program.

Brown, who drove home alone from the bar, was shot as he was about to enter his home. He was pronounced dead at DeKalb Medical Center early Saturday morning.

``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,'' DeKalb County Director of Public Safety Thomas Brown said in a news conference on Saturday.

When asked if police believed more than one person had been involved in the murder, Thomas Brown said, ``There is, but we are not at liberty to say.''

DeKalb County police said they were coordinating their investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to arrests.

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