A suspect was arrested Friday evening for the shooting of an Atlanta police officer in Little Five Points the night before, authorities said.
Cameron Christian Maddox, 19, was taken into custody by Atlanta police and will be transported to DeKalb County Jail on aggravated assault charges. Additional charges are possible, police said.
Maddox is accused of shooting Officer Dexter Toomer in the lower left leg as the officer exited his patrol vehicle around 10:30 p.m. Thursday to get a drink from the Zesto restaurant in the 300 block of Moreland Avenue, police said.
Toomer was fired upon several times from the roof of a nearby building. He was treated at Grady Memorial Hospital and released Friday afternoon.
The investigation into the case is continuing.
Atlanta police arrested a man Friday morning near the site where Toomers was shot. But police spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport said that -- despite a previous report from an officer on the scene -- the arrest was not connected with the shooting.
Police did not say why the man was arrested.
Police spokeswoman Kim Jones said investigators believe the gunman shot from the roof of the Brewhouse Cafe, across McLendon Avenue from the Zesto.
"Investigators found several [ammunition] casings on the roof of the building," she said.
Another officer in the area also heard the gunfire and rushed to the scene when Toomers radioed for help, police said.
Police began searching the area for a suspect and for evidence, police spokesman Officer John Chafee said.
"The officer did not see who shot him," Chafee said.
Toomers has worked for the City of Atlanta for 19 and a half years, first as an Atlanta Corrections Officer for 18 years, then joining the police department, police said.
Grady Memorial Hospital
Zesto employees were shaken by the shooting.
"I’ve been tensed up," restaurant manager Delores Slaughter told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about [the] officer."
Slaughter was working Thursday night and saw the officer shot. She said he typically stopped by to check on the people working there at night.
"I was shocked and hurt," she said. "It wasn’t even five minutes before he stepped out the store and he was hit."
Zesto general manager Mike Simic said there's a lot of police traffic around the store because of previous robberies.
"This place is full of police presence," Simic said. "But obviously its not enough, especially in the night time."
-- Photographer John Spink contributed to this article.
About the Author
