An Atlanta police officer shot and killed an armed robber Wednesday morning at a Burger King in Buckhead, police said.
Police are investigating similarities between the dead bandit and a man who has held up dozens of Burger Kings, Taco Bells and KFC restaurants in recent months.
Officers responded to a robbery call at 5:45 a.m. at the restaurant at 2425 Peachtree Road after an employee activated a silent alarm, said Atlanta police Maj. Keith Meadows.
An officer confronted the suspect inside the Burger King and ordered him to surrender, Meadows said. The suspect turned toward the officer, who fired two shots, wounding the robber.
The suspect fled outside, and the officer pursued him and confronted him again. The man again turned toward the officer, and the officer fired his weapon at least seven times, killing the suspect, Meadows said. He said a weapon and "large amount of cash" were recovered.
The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Jimmy Allen, said Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer Kim Jones. Authorities have confirmed that Allen was responsible for three robberies in Atlanta, she said. APD is working with other agencies to confirm the other robberies.
Meadows said a mask, similar to one worn by the so-called Burger King Bandit, was recovered inside the restaurant Wednesday.
The identity of the officer who shot the man will not be released until police have interviewed him, he said.
Meadows also said police did not believe Wednesday's robbery was related to an incident Tuesday at Willy's Mexicana Grill on West Paces Ferry Road in which a man forced employees to give him cash from a safe.
The two most recent incidents are the latest in a string of high-profile crimes in recent weeks that have some residents on edge.
Malani Massey was running on Peachtree Wednesday morning and passed the Burger King. She said concerns over crime have caused her to take precautions when she runs.
"You really have to be careful of your surroundings," she said. "Sometimes I run with my 9 millimeter [handgun]. Today I didn't.
"Sometimes I run down ... toward the Underground in the morning, and I just don't trust people down there," she said. "And some days I wake up and I decide to carry [the gun] and some days I don't.
"As we've seen on the radio and TV so often, it's happening all over the place. So either you carry your ‘9,' you have some divine protection, you say a Hail Mary or do something and you just hope it's not your day to go."
The Burger King Bandit last struck at a Taco Bell in Stockbridge on Saturday.
The man got away in a late 1990s model four-door Buick Regal with gray trim on the bottom and a sun roof. The description and surveillance photos of the vehicle are similar to those of the getaway car used in the other robberies and the car found near Wednesday's incident.
The same man is believed to have robbed more than 20 Burger Kings, Taco Bells and KFCs in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton and Douglas counties since April.
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