The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FBI agent is dragged by truck; driver wounded
Suspect in gang investigation arrested in Sandy Springs hotel.
An FBI agent was forced to open fire early Friday after a wanted man ran from a Sandy Springs hotel, hopped into a pickup truck and dragged the agent for a quarter-mile, according to an agency spokesman.
The agent and the wounded man were taken to local hospitals, FBI spokesman Kevin Rowson said in an emailed statement.
While the agent’s injuries were not life-threatening, the man is in surgery, according to the FBI. His condition is unknown.
The incident started shortly after 6 a.m. in the lobby of the Wyndham Atlanta Galleria when the FBI agent tried to arrest the man in connection with a gang investigation, Rowson said.
The incident spilled outside when the man took off and tried to get away in the truck.
“The agent tried to stop the suspect from fleeing in the vehicle and somehow got caught up in the vehicle and got dragged by the suspect,” Rowson said.
“At that point, the agent felt that his life was in danger, so he shot the suspect.”
The agent called 911, and the suspect, who authorities haven’t named yet, returned to the hotel lobby, according to the FBI.
Sandy Springs police arrested him without incident inside the Wyndham in the 6300 block of Powers Ferry Road, Rowson said. An investigation is ongoing. The arrest is the latest in an investigation that yielded an indictment against dozens of members and associates of the “Nine Trey Gangsters” on Oct. 12.
The wounded driver “was the lone suspect that was not apprehended from that investigation,” Rowson said.
The suspects face murder, drug and racketeering charges, officials said.
“The alleged crimes relate to drug distribution in the Atlanta area and acts of violence perpetrated largely against the gang’s own members,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in a release.
“Shockingly, the Nine Trey Gangsters in this case appear willing to kill someone or to commit violence over the smallest perceived slight.”