Four first responders were injured trying to provide medical aid to a man who was shot by an officer Thursday after charging at her with a machete in Chamblee, officials said.
The incident began at a Walmart Supercenter on Chamblee Tucker Road near Peachtree Boulevard around 2:40 p.m. when a 911 call was made regarding a man in the pharmacy area with a weapon, according to the GBI. Dispatch advised the officer that the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyrese Markee Simon by the GBI, had a machete.
As the officer neared the grocery store, she noticed the suspect walking along Chamblee Tucker Road and tried to speak with him. The officer then began to follow Simon and told him several times to stop and show his hands, the state agency said.
The chase continued toward an area under an overpass on Chamblee Tucker Road near Peachtree Road. It was then that the man “pulled out a machete, turned and faced the officer with the blade in hand, and charged toward the officer,” according to the GBI.
The officer fired her gun at the suspect several times, striking him, officials confirmed. The officer was not injured.
Additional officers and firefighters responded to the scene soon after shots were fired and rendered aid to Simon.
“He remained combative, assaulting two officers and two firefighters while they were providing aid,” the GBI said.
Simon was in critical condition and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he remains in custody. He is facing charges of aggravated assault on a public safety officer, shoplifting, criminal trespass and five counts of obstruction, DeKalb jail records show.
The GBI will conduct an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting and turn over its findings to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office for review. It was the eighth such shooting the state agency has been asked to investigate in 2024.
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