Moreland Ave. neighbors react after attempted robbery suspect killed in police shootout

Larry Spruill
·2 min read
9

Neighbors in the Moreland Avenue neighborhood are reacting to a shootout involving police and an armed robbery suspect shut down parts of their community for hours on Thursday.

It happened around 1:30 Thursday afternoon at the Valero Gas Station at the corner of Memorial Drive and Moreland Avenue.

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Deigratia Daniels lives in the Moreland Avenue area and saw the aftermath.

“I see these police lights, and I see the yellow tape, and then I see the numbers on the ground; there’s some shell casings on the ground,” said Daniels.

Those shell casings are from a shootout between 34-year-old Ainsley Popwell and Atlanta police after they said he fired a gun at a patrol car and then tried to rob the Valero Gas Station in East Atlanta.

Police said they were called about a person in the area around 1 p.m. When officers found Popwell, he fired his gun at a patrol car and ran.

“At that time, the suspect entered into the store, he forcibly entered into the clerk area of the gas station where he tried to get inside the cash registers,” said Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr.

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Police said Popwell walked out of the store and shot at police again. Officers fired back and killed Popwell.

“This is never the outcome any officer that goes to work each day wants to see, but I do want to commend the officers of the Atlanta Police Department,” said Chief Darin Schierbaum.

But Daniels said this latest incident has him considering moving.

“It’s a consideration I’m thinking about. Do I need to move? Do I need to move my family somewhere else?” asked Daniels.

The GBI investigation is ongoing. Once complete, the Dekalb County District Attorney’s Office will review.

This is the 34th officer-involved shooting in 2023.

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