A gun found near the man who was shot and killed by Atlanta officers “appeared to have been discharged,” the GBI said Sunday.
The man was identified as Jeremiah Perdue, 33, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a statement.
About 4:37 a.m., officers went to the area of the 1000 block of Metropolitan Parkway in southwest Atlanta in response to a 911 call, the GBI said. A person said a family member had pointed a gun at them.
Media advisory: GBI investigating officer involved shooting in Atlanta https://t.co/uOhHxasL8v pic.twitter.com/OIHXWd6sZB
— GA Bureau of Invest (@GBI_GA) August 19, 2018
Officers found Perdue and tried to stop him.
“At some point, Perdue was observed with a firearm and officers discharged their weapons, fatally striking Perdue,” Miles said.
“A firearm was located near the subject and appeared to have been discharged,” the statement said.
We just learned from the @GBI_GA Jeremiah Perdue, 33, is the man who was killed during the officer involved shooting in SW Atlanta. GBI says Perdue's gun appeared to have gone off. Live report at Noon.
— Lauren Pozen WSB (@LaurenPozenWSB) August 19, 2018
The GBI is investigating, which is standard in use-of-force cases.
“Our officers fired,” Atlanta police Capt. David Villaroel said soon after the incident, “maybe as many as four officers. That will be determined by the GBI.
“Whether the suspect fired or not, that will be determined by the GBI.”
This is the 58th officer-involved shooting investigation in Georgia this year, Miles said.
MORE: Georgia on pace to double deadly officer-involved shootings in 2018
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