A carjacker on Monday was wounded by DeKalb police after he tried to use a large SUV as a battering ram to escape, Capt. Steve Fore told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The suspected thief hit four police cars after pulling into an industrial park just inside Gwinnett County and finding that it had no exit, Fore said.
He then aimed the GMC Denali at patrol cars, Fore said. After the initial onslaught, officers got out of their cars and the carjacker turned the large SUV on them, Fore said.
“He drove again in a ramming fashion toward the officers and the officers discharged their firearms,” Fore said. “They were trying to box him in so he couldn’t get back out. He didn’t want to go quietly.”
The man stole the Denali from a car sales lot on Hirsh Drive, which is near Mountain Industrial Boulevard, while out on a test drive with a salesperson, Fore said. He pulled a knife and forced the salesperson from the vehicle, Fore said.
Responding officers saw the Denali and gave pursuit and captured it after the driver turned into a industrial park near Stone Mountain on West Park Place just inside Gwinnett County, Fore said.
Fore said he did not yet have a name for the wounded man who will be charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault. Initial reports put the man’s age around 27, Fore said.
The GBI is investigating the officer involved shooting and DeKalb is investigating the carjacking, said Cedric Alexander, director of public safety in DeKalb. The suspect was taken to the hospital.
About the Author
