The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
APD officer shot responding to possible burglary
An Atlanta police officer was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital on Thursday morning after being wounded in a shooting.
The officer was said to be stable after being shot on Marietta Street in the West Midtown shopping district, where officers were called shortly before 6 a.m. to investigate a possible burglary at a luxury boutique. Though the officer was in good spirits, Assistant Chief Darin Schierbaum said were it not for the quick work of his fellow officers and the care he received at Grady, his life would have been at risk.
“Our officers work daily for the good of our citizens responding to crimes large and small, ensuring that the citizens are safely taken care
of,” Schierbaum said from outside the hospital Thursday. “This shows this morning,
at 6 a.m. as many of us were preparing to start our day, officers were serving
the city, and one was seriously injured.”
According to Schierbaum,
officers were met with gunfire while investigating the burglary call at A Ma Maniére, a menswear boutique that specializes in high-end sneakers.
One shot was fired, striking the officer, a four-year department veteran whose name was not released. The location of his injury was not disclosed, but Schierbaum said initial reports that the officer was grazed were incorrect.
“He was shot, and immediate medical care had to be rendered to ensure that injury was not life-threatening,” he said.
His fellow officers applied a tourniquet and waited for an ambulance to arrive. A convoy of police vehicles escorted the officer’s ambulance as it made its way to Grady around 6:30 a.m.
One person, who may be a security guard at the boutique, was detained at the scene and was being questioned Thursday morning at police headquarters, Schierbaum said. The guard’s involvement in the shooting was not immediately clear, but investigators were reviewing surveillance footage to determine what happened.
At A Ma Maniére, a large hole could be seen in a cinder block wall behind the shop, and a black Mercedes-benz was towed from the scene. The shooting and the possible burglary are separate investigations, according to Schierbaum, and both are in the early stages.
“It is our diligence of this department to hold every burglar accountable, and we will not lose sight of that as we care for our officer,” he said.