One officer leaves hospital, two have surgery after fatal shootout

Police injured in scuffle with man wielding knife and a gun.

Three police officers were recovering Sunday after being injured in a Saturday shootout with an armed man in southwest Atlanta. One was released from the hospital.

The officers were shot around 5:25 p.m. Saturday after struggling with a man wielding a knife and handgun in the 1400 block of Desoto Avenue in the Capitol View neighborhood, authorities said. The man was killed and the three officers, two of whom are 31 and one 28, were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office had not released the dead man’s name as of Sunday afternoon, pending notification of kin. The officers also had not been identified.

One of the officers who remains hospitalized has gone through surgery and faces an additional surgery today, the Atlanta Police Department said. The other officer had surgery Sunday morning.

“I am devastated that we are at this place again where senseless gun violence has injured three of our APD officers. My thoughts are with these officers and their families, and we are cooperating fully with this ongoing investigation,” Mayor Andre Dickens said in a statement. “Thanks to the surgeons and staff at Grady Hospital for ensuring that our officers will survive.”

All three officers have been with the department at least four years, with the

youngest being on the force for about five months, police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference outside Grady Memorial Hospital.

One suffered a shoulder wound, another had a leg wound and the third had a graze wound, authorities said.

At the press conference, Dickens said he and the police chief had spoken with the families of the officers.

“Once again you can see that guns are causing harm in our community and unfortunately APD officers were hit,” the mayor added.

According to the GBI, officers responded around 5:15 p.m. Saturday to Genessee Avenue and Fairbanks Street after a caller reported a man pointing a gun and who was believed to be a danger to the community. Officers found the man near the intersection of Desoto Avenue and Genessee Avenue.

After the man pulled out a handgun, officials said, one of the officers tackled him and wrestled him to the ground.

“While on the ground, what sounded like a gunshot could be heard. The man was subsequently shot by APD officers,” the GBI stated.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the state agency

did not comment on how the officers were shot. Authorities said GBI agents recovered a handgun the man allegedly used.

Zachary Adrianessens, who lives in the neighborhood, told Channel 2 Action News that some people were outside doing yardwork when shots rang out. Nearby, he said, events associated with a parade were underway near the Atlanta BeltLine.

“Children everywhere. It’s the Lantern Parade today. We had hordes of children carrying their lanterns to the BeltLine avoiding crime scenes,” Adrianessens said.

The GBI will investigate and turn over its findings to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.

The incident was the 24th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year.

BEN HENDREN FOR THE AJC Three Atlanta police officers were recovering Sunday after being shot in the Capitol View neighborhood in the 1400 block of DeSoto Avenue on Saturday afternoon.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens speaks outside Grady Hospital on Saturday after three police officers were shot during a struggle with a man with a knife and a gun.