Fulton officer fatally shoots man who charged at him with flat metal, GBI says
A Fulton County police officer on Sunday morning shot and killed a man who officials said charged at him with a piece of flat metal at an apartment complex in southwest Atlanta.
At about 7:40 a.m., the GBI said the officer confronted a man who broke his patrol car’s window at Heritage Station Apartments on McDaniel Street. The officer handles security at the complex and a witness reported the damage to him, officials said.
During the confrontation, the GBI said the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Elieser Rivera Jr., charged at the officer “with a length of flat metal.”
“The individual advanced towards the officer and refused multiple commands to drop the object,” the GBI said. “The officer fired his weapon, hitting the individual, who died on the scene.”
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, including the GBI, which said it was asked to investigate by Fulton police. The officer was not injured, officials said.
The complex is in the Pittsburgh neighborhood near Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
The body of Rivera, who is from Passaic, New Jersey, was taken to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, according to the state agency.
After the GBI completes its investigation, the case file will be given to the Fulton DA’s office for review.
It was the 28th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2025. At the same time last year, the state agency had looked into 26 such shootings.
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