Man dead after attempting to rob gas station, shootout with Atlanta police
A man was killed in a shoot-out with Atlanta police after they said he fired a gun at a patrol car and then tried to rob an East Atlanta gas station.
The incident happened at the Valero gas station at the corner of Memorial Drive and Moreland Avenue around 1:30 p.m.
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Police said they were called about a person armed in the area around 1 p.m. When officers found the man, he fired his gun at a patrol car and ran, police said.
The suspect, who has not been identified, then went into a gas station and tried to rob two clerks while brandishing his gun, police said.
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When officers arrived outside of the gas station, the gunman shot at them and then came out of the store and shot at officers again.
Police opened fire on the man, who later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.
One officer suffered from a minor injury but none of the officers sustained gunshot wounds.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot arrived at the scene just as an ambulance was driving away with the mortally wounded gunman.
Elliot talked to a witness who didn’t want to be identified but said she heard gunfire.
“I heard two gunshots, and then I looked out the window and a bunch of police cars were coming down the street, and a man came out, and I heard about six gunshots,” she said.
Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said the man kept shooting at police even after he had been shot.
“The subject was hit, and even while on the ground, the subject fired at least one more round in the direction of officers,” Hampton said.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum commended the officers for their actions protecting the people around the scene.
“From what we know, the video we’ve been able to review, our officers acted bravely and decisively to protect the community,” he said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has now taken over the case.
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