Cops Launch Selfie Contest | No Charges In Fatal Fire | Mistaken-Identity Murder | Former ATL Chief Dies: News Nearby

There was plenty of news across Georgia on Friday. If you missed any of it on your local Patch, here’s a roundup of some of the top stories from the past 24 hours.

• Where To Get Free Ice Cream In Gwinnett On Tuesday
• Where To Get Free Ice Cream In North Fulton On Tuesday
• No Charges In Fire That Killed Man's Wife, Daughters

Possible Tornadoes, Heavy Winds Slammed Georgia On Thursday

Heavy winds battered much of Georgia on Thursday and a pair of possible tornadoes touched down in metro Atlanta as storms pelted the area for much of the day. One storm cell that moved through the metro area after 9 p.m. kicked up the day's nastiest severe weather in the Atlanta area, including a small tornado that touched down near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Deadly Opioid Drug Epidemic Leads To GBI Warning

A wave of deaths in the state due to a pair of opioid drugs has spurred Georgia authorities to issue a warning about their dangers. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has released a public safety alert regarding the drugs furanyl fentanyl and U-47700. In the last four months, 17 deaths in Georgia have been caused by the two synthetic opioids. That's the same number of fatalities that were ascribed to the drugs in all of last year.

Metro Atlanta's Police Departments Are Doing A 'Selfie Challenge'

A number of metro Atlanta police departments are taking community policing to new heights, or in this case, sights. Police forces across the metro area are involved in a selfie challenge, a good-natured competition started by the Norcross Police Department as a way to show the community that police work is not all about the crime and tragedy you see oftentimes in the headlines.

Inmate, Fiancée Ran Scheme To Help Prisoners Escape: Prosecutors

A federal inmate and his fiancée were arraigned Thursday on charges of coordinating a plan to help inmates escape from the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta. The pair were indicted last month on charges that between November 2016 and April, the pair worked to help inmates who escape from the camp with transportation in exchange for a fee. In one such instance, escaped inmates were picked up, driven to a nearby hotel and then returned to the prison later.

Contribute your own content to Patch by signing up for an account and clicking the “Post on Patch” button at the top right of the site.

• Campus Carry Bill Becomes Law In Georgia
• Funeral Set For Kennesaw Man Who Died At South Carolina Waterfall
• Richard Pennington, Former Atlanta Police Chief, Dead At 69
• 4 Convicted In Mistaken-Identity Murder In Atlanta

SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app

Image via Facebook / Norcross PD