A man suspected of trafficking two young girls at a Cobb County hotel pointed a gun at an officer, who shot him, the GBI said Wednesday.
Cobb police were investigating a child trafficking operation, leading officers to the Red Roof Inn on Winchester Parkway near Smyrna, the GBI said. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, officers went to the hotel after learning of possible victims being held in a room.
When investigators knocked on the door, a young girl opened it, a GBI spokeswoman said. Inside was a second girl, along with 29-year-old Atwon White of Williamson.
“When White saw the investigators, he pointed a handgun at the officers and ran out of the room and into the parking lot,” the GBI said in an emailed statement. “In the parking lot, he pointed the handgun at a uniformed CCPD officer, at which time the officer shot White once with his issued rifle.”
White was treated at the scene and then taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, investigators said. He was in critical condition but is expected to survive, according to the GBI.
Both girls were rescued from the hotel and were being assisted, the GBI said. The investigation into the alleged trafficking will continue.
The Cobb police department requested the GBI’s assistance in investigating the officer-involved shooting. The incident is the 82nd such shooting in Georgia this year and the five involving the Cobb County Police Department.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
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