WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT SHOOTING OF 2 OFFICERS

One of 2 Forest Park officers shot was in critical condition after incident.

What began Wednesday morning as a reckless driving call turned into a shooting that left one man dead, a Forest Park police officer in critical condition and another officer with non-life-threatening injuries.

The incident also forced a lockdown at a nearby middle school.

Officers responded about 10:45 a.m. to the 4700 block of Mitchell Street after learning a motorcyclist

was driving recklessly and not wearing a helmet, Forest Park police Maj. Chris Matson said.

The motorcyclist, identified by police as 30-yearold James Jacob Bailey, ran.

The officers followed him behind a house on Mitchell Street. An exchange of gunfire took place, and both officers were shot, Matson said.

Responding officers got the injured officers out of the way and set up a perimeter. After a search, Bailey was found dead behind the house.

“It is not known for sure how Bailey died,” Matson said.

Authorities do not know how many shots were fired, Sgt. Kelli Flanagan said.

One of the wounded officers was taken to WellStar Atlanta Medical Center South. Channel 2 Action News identified him as DeMarcus Hutcherson.

The other officer was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

One officer was shot in the leg and is alert. The other was shot in the neck and was out of surgery, Channel 2 reported Friday evening.

Both officers have been with the department for about two years, Matson said.

Officials eventually lifted the lockdown at Forest Park Middle School and dismissed students on time.

GBI officials investigated the scene of the shootings, which is routine in use-offorce cases.

There have been 80 officer-involved shootings in Georgia this year, according to the agency. In 2016, the GBI investigated 77 officer-involved shootings.

PHOTOS BY JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM What began as an “encounter with an armed suspect” Wednesday turned into a shooting that left one man dead and two Forest Park police officers in the hospital. Jacob Bailey, who allegedly shot the officers, died behind a house near where the shooting...

Officers investigate at the scene of an officerinvolved shooting on Mitchell Street on Wednesday that left one mand dead and sent two officers to the hospital, one in critical condition.

JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM Authorities say they do not know how many shots were fired during the confrontation that left James Jacob Bailey dead and sent two Forest Park police officers to the hospital. Bailey was found dead behind a Mitchell Street house.