A state trooper used his service weapon to shoot out the tire of a stolen vehicle as officials were trying to make multiple arrests Wednesday in DeKalb County, the GBI said.
No one was injured in the incident, which began as an attempt to locate the vehicle, officials said. The GBI will investigate the use of force at the request of the Georgia State Patrol.
Around 9:15 a.m., the GBI said troopers were helping Atlanta police with tracking down a black Jeep Grand Cherokee in the area of Columbia drive near I-20. They found the Jeep at the intersection of McAfee Road and Columbia Drive and began to surround it.
The GBI said the driver then accelerated, striking the front passenger side of a trooper’s vehicle.
As troopers were attempting to take its occupants into custody, the Jeep rolled backward and a trooper fired his weapon, according to the state agency. The gunfire punctured the rear wheel on the driver’s side.
The three occupants of the SUV then tried to run off, but the GBI noted that they were “caught immediately.” Their names and charges were not released.
A handgun was recovered from the ground near the Jeep, but officials confirmed it was not used during the chase or arrests.
The incident is the 64th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year. The agency will complete an independent investigation before handing over the case to the DeKalb district attorney’s office for review.
Wednesday’s incident was the third officer-involved shooting the GBI was asked to investigate in a 24-hour period.
In Walton County, which is about an hour east of DeKalb, sheriff’s deputies fatally shot 31-year-old Charles Rice late Tuesday after he fired at them first, the GBI said. The exchange of gunfire allegedly came at the end of a vehicle chase that traveled into Rockdale County around 10:40 p.m.
Just eight hours earlier in Bartow County, law enforcement fired shots while pursuing a suspect in a shooting at a flooring manufacturing facility. Courtney Wilkerson, 43, is accused of opening fire on employees of Mannington Mills and then shooting at officers during a pursuit, the state agency said.
Wilkerson was taken to the hospital and remains in critical condition. No officers were hurt during the incident.
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