Three Atlanta police officers shot, one suspect dead

Three Atlanta Police Department officers were shot and injured and the suspect died, officials said.

Officers responded around 5:15 p.m. local time Saturday to a call about a man with a weapon, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters hours after the incident.

When police arrived on scene, they found a man armed with a handgun and a knife.

“During this confrontation, there was a fight. There were shots fired which injured three of our officers. This also led to the death of the individual who was armed with the handgun” , Schierbaum said.

The injured officers include two 31-year-old officers who have both been with the department for four years, as well as a 28-year-old officer who had five months of experience with the department. Two of the police officers had to undergo surgery.

The chief also said the investigation is in its “early stages, so we have a limited amount of information” about what happened.

Officers are “alert, aware and breathing,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.

“Once again you can see that guns are causing harm to our communities,” he also said.

Even though Atlanta’s homicide rate so far this year is down 5% compared to the same time in 2023, it is still more than 20% higher than it was at the same time in 2019 , the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the data. watch.

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