A man was in the hospital with life-threatening injuries Thursday morning after a shootout with police in northwest Atlanta.
Neighbors told Channel 2 Action News they heard at least 12 shots before police sectioned off an area around Tilden and Church streets.
Atlanta police were called to the scene when someone spotted a man trying to get into vehicles along Tilden Street.
“Officers arrived on the scene and located an individual crouched down near a vehicle parked in a driveway,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Nelly Miles said.
The officers asked the man to step out with his hands up, she said.
“At that time, the subject displayed a firearm and fired shots in the direction of the officers,” Miles said.
The officer returned fire and struck the man.
He was hit in the neck and chest before he tried to run away, police said. The man was later captured about 40 yards away in a wooded area behind the home.
Police also found a pistol lodged under the man as he hid in the woods, Channel 2 reported.
The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery. He was in stable condition just before 11:30 a.m., Miles said.
The officer had a minor wound to his side, but he was not injured by the gunfire, Channel 2 reported.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to investigate the shooting about 4:30 a.m. That investigation is ongoing.
