Pike County officer wounded, man killed in downtown Atlanta shooting

October 26, 2021 Atlanta: The GBI and Atlanta police worked the scene on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 after a Molena police officer working an off-duty job in parking enforcement was shot Monday night as he was sitting in his vehicle in downtown Atlanta, officials said. The officer was working for ATL Plus when he was approached by the alleged gunman on Luckie Street shortly before 10 p.m., according to the GBI. The state agency said the officer took a bullet to the neck and returned fire, fatally wounding the man. The officer’s injuries were not considered life-threatening, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a news release. “Agents on scene found the man who died in possession of a firearm,” she said. The names of the two men were not released. A third gunshot victim, a woman, was also found at the scene, according to Atlanta police. She was taken to a hospital with what police believed to be a graze wound. “The preliminary investigation indicates there may have been some type of altercation between the two males that escalated to gunfire,” an Atlanta police spokesman said in a statement. According to Channel 2 Action News, the officer argued with the man about a parking ticket before shots were fired. Officials have not confirmed the motive. Molena is a town of fewer than 500 in southwest Pike County, more than 60 miles south of downtown Atlanta. The injured officer serves in a reserve capacity, according to the GBI. The GBI is investigating the incident as an officer-involved shooting, the 80th such shooting this year. 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. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)