A veteran Fulton County police officer is out of the hospital after being wounded early Thursday during a shootout, a police spokeswoman said.
The officer, who shot and killed the suspect firing on him, was released from Grady Memorial Hospital early Thursday afternoon, Fulton Police Cpl. Kay Lester said.
The shooting happened about 8:20 a.m. Thursday in the 4600 block of White City Road near College Park, according to Lester.
The officer, a 20-year veteran of the force whose name has not been released, “was on patrol in the area when he encountered a suspicious individual,” Lester said.
“During that encounter with the individual, shots were fired,” Lester said. “The individual is now deceased.”
Lester said the officer was alert when taken to Grady.
“The vest he was wearing did save his life and we are grateful that he was wearing his vest,” she said.
Lester said the GBI would be investigating the shooting, which happened just inside I-285, north of Roosevelt Highway.
GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said late Thursday morning that there were two Fulton officers involved in the incident, but only one was shot. She didn’t know if both officers fired their weapons.
Lang said the suspect, whose name was being withheld until relatives could be found and notified, had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court, but released no further details on that warrant.
“The information that we have is that he is not from this area,” Lang said.
Nearby Harriett Tubman Elementary School on Lakeshore Drive was placed on lockdown as a precaution. The lockdown was lifted late Thursday morning.
Please return for updates.
—Staff writer Marcus K. Garner contributed to this report.
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