DeKalb County

Traffic stop at DeKalb gas station leads to officer-involved shooting

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating an officer-involved shooting in DeKalb County.

It happened in the 2400 block of Candler Road in Decatur on Tuesday evening.

Channel 2's Audrey Washington was at the scene Wednesday morning, where the GBI was still collecting evidence. The shooting was in the same area where another officer was shot and killed only a month ago.

DeKalb County police Chief James Conroy said an officer was conducting a traffic stop around 8:35 p.m. Tuesday on a BMW when one of the three people inside the car jumped out and ran behind the gas station and jumped a fence.

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Conroy said the officers followed and, moments later, the man who the officer was chasing fired at least one shot at him.

The chief told Channel 2 Action News the man missed and the officer returned fire, striking the suspect several times.

The man was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but he is now in serious condition. Two other people who were in the car were detained for questioning, Conroy said.

Washington spoke to the man's fiancee, who said he is going to be OK. She asked not to be identified, but talked to Washington.

"I lost my mind," she said of the moment she heard about the shooting. She said off-camera that her fiance has mental health issues. She said they have been together for seven years and have a 5-year-old child together.

Police found a gun at the scene.

The gas station stayed blocked off for hours as police and the GBI searched for evidence.

In December, a shooting that left Officer Edgar Flores dead happened just steps away from this current shooting.

"Traffic stops are dangerous, and any time an occupant flees a vehicle, it's dangerous," Conroy said. "I don’t think I have to say that we had an officer killed not far from here just over a month ago in a very similar type of situation.”