Armed man killed, three officers wounded in Atlanta street altercation, police say

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

Officers responded to a report of an armed man in a shopping 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 at a news conference.

“During that encounter there was a struggle, there was gunfire which injured three of our officers. It also resulted in the death of the person armed with the gun,” Schierbaum said.

Police could not immediately identify the deceased man. Police did not believe anyone else was involved, Schierbaum said.

The three officers were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital in police patrol vehicles. One officer was shot in the shoulder, another in the leg and the third suffered a graze wound. Two of the officers were 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 spoke with officers at the hospital and they were “alert, conscious and breathing.”

“Once again you see guns wreaking havoc in our communities,” Dickens said at the news conference outside the hospital, noting that he and other officials were on their way to a fundraiser for police when they were notified of the shooting.