A DeKalb County police officer was recovering Thursday after being struck by a car that was fleeing the scene of a theft near Decatur.
DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said officers responded to a 3 a.m. report of a theft in progress at the Valleyfield Apartments on Covington Highway near South Hairston Road.
The thieves were apparently trying to steal the wheels from a Lexus in the parking lot of the complex.
When officers arrived, they encountered the suspects and "at some point, one of the officers was struck by the suspects' vehicle," Parish told the AJC.
She said that officer fired his weapon at the suspects' vehicle, but they were able to leave the complex, and investigators do not know whether any of the suspects were hit by the officer's shots.
One person was detained at the scene, but Parish said detectives were still trying to determine if he was connected to the incident.
The officer hit by the vehicle was taken to a local hospital for treatment, Parish said. She didn't know the extent of his injuries, but said he was in stable condition.
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