Suspect killed, two officers grazed in Atlanta shooting

ATLANTA, Ga. — Atlanta police killed a man who was firing shots into the air near one of the city’s most well-known parks Tuesday morning, authorities said. Two officers suffered minor injuries.

The shooting occurred near Piedmont Park in the city’s Midtown neighborhood, police spokesman Carlos Campos said.

When authorities arrived to engage the man, he fired at an officer and grazed him in the head. Authorities shot back and killed the man, Campos said. A second officer was also grazed in the foot during the shootout, Campos said.

Both injured officers were expected to be released from a hospital, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Investigators did not immediately release the identity of the dead man. Maj. Michael O’Connor said he reviewed the officers’ body cameras and at times saw the man pleading with the officers to shoot him. Both of the officers involved in the shooting are expected to be put on administrative leave as part of the department’s policy.

Witnesses who live 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,” Abby Downs, a local resident, told the newspaper.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been requested to investigate the shooting, said Nelly Miles, the agency’s spokeswoman.

Both injured officers were expected to be released from a hospital, according to the Atlanta JournalConstitution.