Officer shoots man trying to get into Atlanta school with BB gun

Atlanta Public Schools police officers shot a man who tried to enter a school Tuesday morning with what turned out to be a BB gun, according to the GBI.

Officials at Forrest Hill Academy contacted district police after realizing the man was armed, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.

“It was later determined during the crime scene examination that the subject’s weapon was a BB gun,” Miles said.

When police arrived, the man was leaving the school’s southwest Atlanta campus in the 2900 block of Forrest Hills Drive, she said. Officers encountered him and spotted the weapon.

“Officers did end up firing at the man,” Miles said. “They struck him.”

It is unclear how many shots were fired, if the man knew anyone at the school, if he intended to do harm to someone and what caused the officers to start shooting.

“At this particular point,” Miles said, “it’s not clear whether or not he actually pulled the weapon or pointed the weapon at the officers.”

The man, who has not been identified, did not return fire, according to the GBI.

He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and is in stable condition, Miles said. Warrants have been taken out on the suspect for bringing a weapon onto school property, she said.

No students or officers were hurt, Miles said.

The district police department requested the GBI’s assistance, which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.

There have been 92 officer-involved shootings in Georgia this year, according to the GBI. In 2016, the agency investigated 77 officer-involved shootings.

The GBI investigated an officer-involved shooting at an Atlanta school. JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

An Atlanta Public Schools spokesman referred all questions to the GBI.