A young man was shot in an apparent drug deal gone awry Wednesday night in Bainbridge, police said.

At around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, E-911 began receiving reports of shots fired at Hutto McIver Apartments, located at 851 MLK Jr. Drive in Bainbridge.

Bainbridge Public Safety officers responded to the apartments and found 17-year-old Charles Smith of Bainbridge with a gunshot wound to the leg. Smith was taken to Memorial Hospital and Manor in Bainbridge to be treated, and later transfered to a Florida hospital.

Smith suffered a very severe gunshot wound to the hip area from a rifle that has yet to be located, according to BPS Investigator Frank Green.

Investigator Alton Brock said the shooting may have been a result of an illegal narcotics deal gone bad.

Brock said following the shooting, investigators began canvassing the area for information. They were able to match eyewitness accounts of the shooter and his vehicle with a man seen in security footage from the Little Brown Jug package store, located inside the Junior Mall, prior to the shooting.

E-911 sent out a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) call for the surrounding counties for the suspect driving a black GMC Yukon with a Florida tag and large tires.

At approximately 11:30 p.m., Lt. Jerry Mobley with the Camilla Police Department stopped a vehicle matching the description given in the BOLO at an Exxon filling station in Camilla, Ga.

BPS investigators traveled to Camilla and positively matched the driver of the vehicle, Robert Jason Crot, 38, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with photos from the Bainbridge package store. Crot was arrested and booked at the Decatur County Jail, and charged with aggravated assault.

Brock said the case is still under investigation and other charges may be pending.

If you have any information regarding the shooting or if you saw the black GMC Yukon with Florida tags and large tires on the night of the shooting, please contact Investigator Alton Brock or Investigator Frank Green at Bainbridge Public Safety, (229) 248-2038.