GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say they’re searching for suspects after a Georgia sheriff’s deputy was killed in a shootout northeast of Atlanta.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said early Monday that the deputy was killed while exchanging gunfire with a suspect Sunday night.

Hall County sheriff’s spokesman Derreck Booth tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution several deputies had tried to stop a stolen vehicle before the shooting happened.

The sheriff’s office said a search for multiple suspects was underway Monday morning.

Gainesville is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.