A 16-year-old was shot in the leg by police in Muscogee County on Monday after allegedly leading law enforcement on a pursuit and pulling a gun on officers more than once, authorities said.
A Columbus officer shot the teenager after he took out the gun following the chase and refused to put it down, according to the GBI. No officers were injured.
Police first encountered the teen during a traffic stop Sunday evening, GBI Special Agent Fred Wimberly said. The location or reason for the traffic stop was not specified.
“Immediately as the officer approached the driver’s side of the car, the driver pointed a handgun at the officer,” Wimberly said.
The officer retreated without firing shots, and the car sped away. Columbus police later identified the driver as the teen and obtained warrants accusing him of aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm during a crime, possession of a handgun and fleeing police, the GBI said.
About 11:30 a.m. Monday, an officer on patrol spotted the car and tried to pull it over, the GBI said. However, the driver sped off, hitting a car on Veterans Parkway along the way.
The 16-year-old abandoned the car following the crash and ran into a wooded area nearby. A police officer found him after a short search. According to the GBI, the teen was still holding the gun.
“The officer gave him verbal commands to drop the handgun, but he did not comply,” the GBI said. “The officer fired her handgun, hitting the person in the leg. “
The teen was taken to a hospital.
The incident brings the number of shootings involving law enforcement officers the GBI has investigated this year to 96. That ties the total number of similar incidents the agency was asked to investigate in 2020.
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.
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