The Atlanta Police Department said they are investigating a shooting that killed one suspect and injured two officers near Piedmont Park in Midtown, Georgia.
The department early on Tuesday that an officer was on the scene of an active shooting at 11th street & Piedmont Avenue in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Police advised people avoid the area.
APD is on the scene of an officer involved shooting at 11th St & Piedmont Ave. The scene is on Piedmont Ave from 11th St to the Prado. Please avoid the area at this time.
— Atlanta Police Department (@Atlanta_Police) March 17, 2020
After calls came in about a man firing in the air, a police unit was dispatched to the area to investigate, police spokesman Carlos Campos said.
As the unit arrived on the scene, the suspect immediately began shooting at the officers, grazing one officer in the head, Campos said. Officers fired shots back, killing the suspect.
A second officer is believed to have been grazed as well after he said he felt a lot of pain on his foot, the spokesman added.
The officer who was grazed in the head was taken to Grady Hospital to be checked out. Both officers sustained minor injuries and the hospitalized officer was expected to be released soon.
Officials investigating the case did not immediately release information to the public about the suspect.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigator has been requested to investigate the shooting, said Nelly Miles, the agency’s spokeswoman.
One witness living close to the scene of the active shooting told FOX5 the suspect walked up to him shortly before the shooting and had a quick conversation with him.
Another witness who lives close to Piedmont Avenue said they saw multiple police cars racing toward the scene.
“About the time [the officers] got onto Piedmont, they hopped out of their cars with the guns and started shooting down Piedmont toward the botanical gardens,” a local resident, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
