Car thief accused of being shot by officer during police chase, GBI says

ATLANTA, Ga. — An 18-year-old man accused of driving a stolen vehicle and pulling a gun during a police chase Wednesday was shot and killed by a deputy in Atlanta, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.

The GBI said a Fulton County deputy attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Harwell Road, where an Atlanta man fled the scene.

After turning onto Delmar Lane, authorities said the car the man was driving left the road and crashed. The GBI said the man then fled the scene of the crash and as officers chased him, he pulled out a handgun.

An officer shot the man in the head, hitting him, and the man continued running, the GBI said. Officers searched the area and found the man in a yard, the GBI said.

A firearm was found near where officers arrested the man, the GBI said.

Officers rescued the man and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the GBI said. Authorities determined the vehicle the man was driving was stolen, the GBI said.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once completed, the case will be forwarded to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review.