AJC Photos of the year — John Spink

Heat waves leave a mirage effect over a burning gas line that ruptured after a police chase through Gwinnett County, Georgia outside of Atlanta that ended in a fiery crash early Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. The crash cut power along Grayson highway in Lawrenceville.Â Grayson Highway at Simonton Road was shut down for nearly six hours while authorities worked to get the fire under control. While power was restored by 6 a.m., the car was on fire until about 8:30 a.m., when utility crews shut off the gas that was feeding the flames.Â The road reopened shortly after, according to police.Â Officers started chasing the driver, who was wanted on unspecified charges, about 3:20 a.m., Lawrenceville police Lt. Jake Parker told AJC.com.Â The car left the roadway, crashed into a power pole and ruptured a gas main.Â âThe driver tried to bail on foot,â Parker said. âHe didnât make it very far and was apprehended.â He was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries and released. Parker said the manâs name and the charges against him were not immediately available.Â Gwinnett fire spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the threat of escaping gas vapors complicated firefighting efforts. At the height of the blaze, flames shot 30 to 40 feet into the air. âThe decision was made to allow the fire to burn until the gas company was able to stop the leak,â Rutledge said in an email.Â Lawrenceville Gas workers were having to dig in multiple locations to stop the leak, he said. While they were standing by, fire crews used a hose line to protect the gas company workers and prevent the fire from spreading. No one was evacuated, and no injuries were reported.Â While Grayson Highway was closed, drivers were being detoured onto Scenic Highway and Gwinnett Drive.

Passengers travel under the illuminated canopy of the North Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. The world's busiest airport was bustling with passengers arriving for the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, 2019.

June 17, 2019 : Atlanta: Atlanta Squad 4 firefighters, Hayward White (left) and Jason Clark (right) exits the property after a male worker was transported to the hospital Monday June 17, 2019 after he suffered respiratory distress while he was cleaning a pool in the 3300 block of Habersham Road NW in Buckhead. Atlanta Fire Rescue spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said just after 11 a.m. a full Hazardous Material response was called in to identify the agents that caused the worker to be transported to the hospital. No adjacent homes needed to be evacuated as firefighters contained the incident to the pool area. The chemicals were identified as chlorine and other common pool cleaning agents that had the wrong concentration and mix. The small concentration was diluted and dissipated. The worker suffered non-life threatening injuries.JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

Aug 29, 2019 Atlanta: In great sunny weather, SCAD student David Quampah passes âThe Shadeâ by Auguste Rodin at the High Museum on Thursday August 29, 2019. Quampah is majoring in graphic design and was on his way back to his dormitory. The sculpture was a gift to the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center from France in 1968 in memory of the 122 members of the Atlanta Art Association members who lost their lives in a June 3rd, 1962 airplane crash in Paris. Itâs felt like Atlanta has been in the shade the last few days. The forecast for Friday morning - more 50s in the northeast Georgia mountains and 60s in metro Atlanta. Temperatures will rise a little higher Friday afternoon to 90 degrees, but Monahan said the sky will basically be cloud-free. âIt is going to be a very sunny finish to the work week and start to the weekend, too,â Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

September 11, 2019 Stone Mountain: Union City firefighter, Andy Hinesley (center) gathers with Coweta County firefighters and sheriff deputy, Morrow and Peachtree City firefighters on top of the mountain after their climb to the top against the Atlanta skyline. About 100 firefighters ascended to the top of Stone Mountain on Wednesday morning, Sept. 11, 2019 in honor of the lives lost 18 years ago on 9/11. First responders from Fayetteville, Fayette County, Henry County, DeKalb County, Atlanta, Spalding County, Union City, Morrow and Barrow County took part in the fifth annual hike in full firefighting gear. The City of Fayetteville Fire Department sponsors the climb and founded it 5-years ago. The trek began after 9 a.m. The 1-mile climb is equivalent to walking up about 160 flights of stairs. Several observances were scheduled Wednesday around the metro area to honor the 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001, in what is considered the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil. More than 300 firefighters and paramedics died responding to the terrorist attacks. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

September 19, 2019 Gwinnett County: An armed man believed to have barricaded himself inside a Gwinnett County apartment with his newborn son may not have been in the apartment at all, police said. SWAT officers safely removed the baby just before 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 and returned him to his mother. Officers had been trying to make contact with the childâs father for about two hours before making their way inside the unit at the Capella Apartments off South Norcross Tucker Road. âWe're not certain at this time, but it is highly possible the suspect was able to flee the scene prior to police officersâ arrival after the original 911 call,â Gwinnett County police Officer Carlton Releford told the AJC from the scene. A search for the suspect, identified by police as 20-year-old Jamal Alexander, is underway. He is wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident involving the childâs mother, Releford said. The woman called 911 about 7 a.m. after she was forced to run from her apartment following a physical struggle, leaving their son inside. She said Alexander tried to choke her with a pillow before pulling a gun on her, according to investigators. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Gwinnett police detectives at 770-513-5300. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

September 20, 2019 Atlanta: A blaze at an abandoned church building shut down traffic and sent flames into the air Friday near a southeast Atlanta high school. Firefighters worked much of the morning to put out hot spots at the former Gospel Tabernacle Cathedral on Clifton Street, which is across the street from Alonzo A. Crim Open Campus High School. The fire was contained by 7:15 a.m., after the roof and much of the front of the building collapsed. The flames were too strong for firefighters to enter the building when they arrived just before 6 a.m., Atlanta fire spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford said. They had to cut through a locked gate to even access the property. The decision was made to get the blaze under control before they sent crews inside to search. There was evidence of people coming and going at the abandoned church, which was known to house the homeless over the past year it sat vacant, Stafford said. âWe still took the chance to go inside this building after we got a knockdown on the fire and search every room and every crevice of this church to make sure no one was inside, due to the fact that we did have information that people may have lived in there,â he said. âFortunately, no one was found inside.â One person was being treated for smoke inhalation. Stafford said the man may have been sleeping outside the church and breathed in too much smoke while he was trying to gather his belongings. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

The crowd became agitated and began shoving and shouting when a gray Dodge pulled up to the scene that police made leave the scene after two men were found shot to death in southwest Atlanta on Thursday morning, Jan. 3, 2019. Officers found them inside a vehicle near the corner of Lee and Whitehall streets after responding to a call of a person shot about 7:15 a.m., Atlanta police spokesman Officer Jarius Daugherty said. The men were pronounced dead at the scene. âHomicide investigators worked to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting,â Daugherty said.Â

Parents came and picked up their kids on Friday August 30, 2019 after a woman lost control of her car and slammed into a Riverdale, Georgia day care center. Firefighters were dispatched to the La Petite Academy on Taylor Road after the parent drove through the wall of the building, Clayton County Battalion Chief Laura Richardson said. No children were injured in the wreck, but a day care employee and the driver were evaluated at the scene, she said. The crash appeared to be an accident, according to Riverdale police Capt. Nicole Rabel. âNo one was hurt,â she said. âThe damage appears to be significant, but the initial investigation does not reveal any intent or wrongdoing.â Employees at the day care told Channel 2 Action News that the parent drove into a classroom for 1-year-olds. Authorities are taking a look at the building to determine if another agency should be brought in to assess the stability of the facility, Richardson said.

New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore (24)(left) gets a stiff arm from Los Angeles Rams running back C.J. Anderson (35)(right) in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl action. The New England Patriots played the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl on February 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Patriots won 13-3.

71-year-old, Carolyn Burgess woke up Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2019 to the sound of a car crashing through the front of her DeKalb County, Georgia home.Â âIt was so devastating, the sound. Like the house was tumbling in,â Carolyn Burgess told the AJC,Â âI couldnât look out the window right away. All I could do was get myself together.â DeKalb police said the Ford SUV was stolen shortly before the driver crashed into Burgessâ home on Browns Mill Ferry Road near Lithonia about 8 a.m., taking out the corner of her garage and her front porch.Â âAs he was trying to escape, the car came into my yard,Â driveway and knocked down the garage, and as you can see itâs collapsed,â Burgess said.Â The driver hopped out and ran off before police got there Burgess said that even after officers and EMS arrived to help her out of her damaged home, she was wary of leaving her bedroom on the second floor.Â âI was afraid to come downstairs because I didnât know if someone was in my house,â she said. âIâm still feeling sick inside.â The incident is under investigation.

November 4, 2019 DeKalb County: Cremation Care of Georgia arrive at the scene where a clerk at a DeKalb County gas station has been charged with murder after police said he shot a man inside the store Monday morning, Nov. 4, 2019. Amir Javed, the clerk of the Texaco station at the corner of Memorial Drive and Rays Road, called 911 to report the shooting about 1:45 a.m., according to DeKalb police. The man, who was shot once, was pronounced dead the scene. His name has not been released. He was unarmed, Channel 2 Action News reported. âIt appears there was some type of dispute with the victim and the clerk, and it appears that the clerk shot him,â Lt. Rod Bryant told AJC.com. âItâs still under investigation at this time.â It is unknown if Javed and the victim knew each other. They were the only two people inside the convenience store when the shooting took place, Bryant said. Javed, 26, was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on a charge of malice murder, according to police. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

Los Angeles Rams quarterback, Jared Goff (left) tries to make his way through the crowd to congratulate New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady (center) as a shower of confetti descends upon the field on Sunday Feb. 3, 2019 following the end of the game at the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the L.A. Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Patriots won 13-3.

A standoff with an armed driver ended after negotiators and Marietta, Georgia S.W.A.T. officers surrounded the manâs vehicle and pulled him from the car onto the side of I-75 South in Cobb County on Friday, March 29, 2019. Officers with guns drawn had shut down all southbound lanes of I-75 in Cobb County where Marietta police were in a 2-hour standoff with an uncooperative driver who was armed near the I-285 interchange. The driver was suspected of being involved in an armed robbery at the Walmart at 210 Cobb Pkwy., Marietta police spokesman Officer Chuck McPhilamy said in a statement. âThe vehicle and driver match the description of a suspect who committed an armed robbery in the city,â he said. âWithin a short period of time Marietta Officers located the suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.â The driver did not immediately stop, but eventually pulled over to the side of the interstate between Windy Hill Road and I-285, McPhilamy said. He told 911 dispatchers he is not getting out of the car because he is afraid of being shot. Multiple agencies worked the scene, including the Georgia State Patrol and officers with the Cobb County and Marietta police departments. Taylor Alexander Smith-Duffy was ultimately charged with misdemeanor obstruction after refusing to get out of his car during the two-hour standoff, but police never charged him with armed robbery.

Sanmarian McClain (center-left) is comforted in her grief after losing her daughter to gunfire Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. An 18-year old woman is dead after a stray bullet flew into her southwest Atlanta home and hit her as she slept. Gunfire erupted Thursday, in the street outside the home in the 2900 block of River Ridge Drive, according to Atlanta homicide commander Lt. Andrea Webster. Officers were sent to the residence about 6 a.m. after a woman reported her daughter had been shot and killed. When officers went inside the home, they found the victim with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said. Emergency medical officials confirmed she was dead. Investigators learned there was an exchange between at least two shooters that may have lasted several minutes, Webster said. During that time, three stray bullets came into the house, one of which hit and killed the sleeping teen, she said. âWe canât think of any reason she may have been the subject or the target,â Webster said. The 18-year-old, identified by relatives as Jessica Daniels, had just graduated from South Atlanta High School in May, her mother told police.

DeKalb County police investigators are framed inside the window of the medical examiners truck where they investigated the death of a man found in his car at a gas station in Lithonia, Georgia. The body of a man in his 30âs was found at the BP Circle K station at 3860 Panola Road Wednesday morning, according to DeKalb Police Sgt. B Danner. The call came in just before 8 a.m. from his wife who traced her husbandâs phone to the station where she found him unresponsive Danner said. There were no visible signs of trauma or any weapons found at the scene. Danner said that the medical examiner found the cause of death was blunt trauma to the head.

Clayton County, Georgia police officer Rob Fleming (left) escorts a grieving Tiffany White (right) whose pregnant sister, Sandra White had been fatally shot by her boyfriend, Anthony Bailey and was holding her nephew, Arkeyvion White-16 hostage. A multi jurisdiction police response occurred after two Henry County police officers were shot and the suspected gunman, Anthony Bailey barricaded himself inside Sandra White's home with her son as a hostage after killing her on Thursday, April 4, 2019 in their Stockbridge, Georgia neighborhood. The two male officers were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in serious condition, according to Henry County police Capt. Joey Smith. Their conditions were not believed to be life-threatening. Officers responded to a home along Eagle Court, about three miles from I-75 in the Eagle Ridge neighborhood, about 10:45 a.m. on a report of âunknown trouble,â Smith said Thursday afternoon. Investigators believe a relative of someone inside the home called 911 to report some type of violence. The officers arrived at the scene and entered the home, where both were shot, Smith said. After the hours long standoff, when officers finally entered the home, they found three bodies: White, her 16-year-old son, Arkeyvion, and Bailey. Investigators believe he killed the mother and son before turning the gun on himself.

An apartment resident waited hours to get back into his residence as Atlanta police homicide detectives investigated a targeted shooting at a southwest Atlanta apartment complex Tuesday morning, July 16, 2019 police said. A man, who was not identified, was shot and killed at the Heritage Station Apartments on McDaniel Street. His body was found in the complexâs parking deck when officers arrived around 1:45 a.m., Atlanta police spokesman Investigator James White said. âAt this time the male appears to have been the victim of a targeted shooting,â White said in a statement.

GBI Agents comb a car for evidence where a man was shot early Monday morning Jan. 7, 2019 when officers tried to break up a fight outside a Henry County Georgia sports bar, police said.Â Officers patrolling in the area noticed a disturbance in the parking lot ofÂ the Tailgaters bar on Ga. 155 near McDonough just before 2:30 a.m., and they intervened, Henry County police Capt. Joey Smith said. After making initial contact with the group of people, Smith said the officers were involved in some kind of struggle and foot chase.Â âThe officer ended up using deadly force, in which one subject was shot,â Smith said. The man, who has not been identified, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in serious condition and was in surgery Monday morning. Smith said it was possible several shots were fired.Â No officers were injured, he said. The GBI was called to the scene to investigate. The investigation appeared to focus on a sedan with a shattered window in the parking lot.Â The shooting comes days after a Henry County officer killed in the line of duty was laid to rest. Officer Michael Smith, 33, wasÂ shot Dec. 6 during a struggle with a man at a McDonough-area dentistâs office. He died as a result of his injuries on Dec. 28, and he was honored at a funeral on Thursday.

Surrounded by media, New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady (center) and teammate, Julian Edelman (left with red glove) celebrate their team's victory on the field on Sunday Feb. 3, 2019 following the end of the game at the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the L.A. Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Patriots won 13-3.

Atlanta Police S.W.A.T. officers talked a man down from the roof of a Midtown Atlanta home after more than nine hours of negotiations on Friday, March 15, 2019. The unidentified man had been on the roof of a home in the 300 block of 4th Street since 5:15 a.m. Friday, police said. Atlanta police are reopened multiple streets that were closed as a result of the hours-long negotiations. Resident Eric Johnson said the man climbed up to his neighborâs roof after breaking into his duplex early Friday morning. âAround 5:15 a.m., the guy smashed out the back window in the kitchen and entered the house,â Johnson said. âHe was in the living room, we think, when my little dog freaked out on the guy. I guess he got scared and dove out of the sunroom window and vaulted the fence.â A police spokesman said officers were called to the scene about the same time and found the man sitting on the roof. Johnson said the man startled his 19-year-old daughter, who saw him just as he made the 6-foot drop from the sunroom window to the courtyard below. âA great way to start a Friday,â he said.

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Heat waves leave a mirage effect over a burning gas line that ruptured after a police chase through Gwinnett County, Georgia outside of Atlanta that ended in a fiery crash early Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. The crash cut power along Grayson highway in Lawrenceville.Â Grayson Highway at Simonton Road was shut down for nearly six hours while authorities worked to get the fire under control. While power was restored by 6 a.m., the car was on fire until about 8:30 a.m., when utility crews shut off the gas that was feeding the flames.Â The road reopened shortly after, according to police.Â Officers started chasing the driver, who was wanted on unspecified charges, about 3:20 a.m., Lawrenceville police Lt. Jake Parker told AJC.com.Â The car left the roadway, crashed into a power pole and ruptured a gas main.Â âThe driver tried to bail on foot,â Parker said. âHe didnât make it very far and was apprehended.â He was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries and released. Parker said the manâs name and the charges against him were not immediately available.Â Gwinnett fire spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the threat of escaping gas vapors complicated firefighting efforts. At the height of the blaze, flames shot 30 to 40 feet into the air. âThe decision was made to allow the fire to burn until the gas company was able to stop the leak,â Rutledge said in an email.Â Lawrenceville Gas workers were having to dig in multiple locations to stop the leak, he said. While they were standing by, fire crews used a hose line to protect the gas company workers and prevent the fire from spreading. No one was evacuated, and no injuries were reported.Â While Grayson Highway was closed, drivers were being detoured onto Scenic Highway and Gwinnett Drive.

By Staff reports

Dec 23, 2019

Fires, crime scenes, SWAT standoffs, traffic-strangling accidents — you name it, John Spink has covered it. The award-winning visual journalist is synonymous with the breaking news beat. He has a reputation in the newsroom — and among some emergency personnel — of being everywhere at once. It’s not a case of just chasing news.

October 8, 2014 AJC employee, John Spink. (CHRIS HUNT/SPECIAL) Mug shot. Portrait. Photojournalist.

For Spink, it’s reflecting the drama, humor and humanity of the situation — the suspects, the police, the firefighters and even grieving families. With more than 40 years of covering fires, in particular, he’s seen his share of grief. “The last thing I want to happen in the paper is for folks to read about fire deaths as a statistic,” he said in an AJC documentary “Into the Fire.” “I’d rather put them there in the photos to allow them to really get a sense of this was somebody’s mother, this was somebody’s father, this was somebody’s child that passed. How would you feel?” Spink joined the AJC staff in 1984 and has photographed a variety of news stories and sports, including the AJC’s Super Bowl coverage in Houston and Atlanta.

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AJC Photos of the year — John Spink

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A bullet grazed him at 13. At 25, gunfire left him dead on the same street.