Atlanta police officers hospitalized, armed suspect killed in street altercation: authorities

US News

From Associated Press

ATLANTA – Three Atlanta police officers were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after an altercation that left a suspect dead Saturday night, authorities said.

Officers responded to a report of an armed man in a commercial area on Fairbanks Street at 5:15 p.m. and encountered a man with a gun and a knife on Desoto Avenue, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said during a news conference.

“During this encounter, a fight ensued and gunfire ensued, resulting in three of our officers being injured. The person who was armed with the pistol also died,” said Schierbaum.

The police were initially unable to identify the deceased man. The police do not believe that anyone else is involved, said Schierbaum.

The three officers were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in police patrol vehicles.

One officer was shot in the shoulder, another was shot in the leg and the third suffered a graze wound. Two of the officers are expected to undergo surgery, Schierbaum said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will lead the investigation into the shooting, he said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said he had spoken to officers at the hospital and that they were “alert, conscious and breathing.”

“You see once again that guns are causing harm in our communities,” Dickens said during the news conference outside the hospital, noting that he and other officers were on their way to a police fundraiser when they were informed of the shooting.