Pike County man fatally shot by deputies

A Pike County Sheriff’s deputy killed a probation violator who was coming at him armed with a machete and hunting knife inside a house near Brundidge on Friday morning.

According to Pike County District Attorney Gary McAliley, Rickey Shackelford, 47, attempted to attack deputies, leading to one deputy fatally shooting Shackelford.

Shackelford served 10 years in prison for three counts of distributing a controlled substance, but was released on parole last June. He was residing at 2923 County Road 3319.

“He had an outstanding warrant for his arrest out of Coffee County for receiving stolen property, and he had about seven years left on his sentence, unserved,” McAliley said. “When parole officers see someone charged with the commission of a new crime while on parole, they get a parole violator’s warrant. When these officers got to Shackelford’s house, he came out with a machete and a 12-inch serrated hunting knife and came toward them. They ordered him to stop, but he was about to strike the officer, and so the officer shot and killed him.”

According to Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas, Shackelford told officers, “I’m not going back to prison,” before he approached them.

Because local law enforcement agencies were involved, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation will investigate the shooting and present its findings to the next Pike County Grand Jury, which will meet Oct. 27.

The name of the deputy who shot Shackelford hasn’t been released, but Thomas said he is a 20-year veteran of the sheriff’s department.