Local

1 dead in officer-involved shooting

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County police officer shot and killed a suspect Thursday morning along Interstate 75 causing a traffic nightmare.

Authorities wrapped up their investigation of the shooting just south of the Old Dixie Highway overpass. Traffic is again moving smoothly, but it was just the opposite following the confrontation and shooting around 8 a.m.

For much of the morning and afternoon, several lanes of I-75 north were blocked off as local police and GBI investigators gathered evidence in the officer-involved shooting that left a man dead.

Authorities told Channel 2’s Tom Regan it began when an officer stopped to investigate a man that appeared to be breaking into a car that had been abandoned on  the side of the highway.

“Upon making contact with the subject, the subject immediately took flight. The officer was able to catch up with him a short distance later. A physical confrontation ensued. During this confrontation, the subject appeared to be taking the officer's weapon. During a struggle over the weapon, the weapon discharged and struck the individual," said Clayton County Capt. Steve Branham.

The suspect died at the scene. The officer was not hurt.

Many questions remain unanswered, including where the man is from. And was he was driving another vehicle prior to the confrontation.

People who were stuck on the highway at the time only learned after exiting the interstate what had happened.

"I mean, it's terrible. It's sad," said driver Charlotte Thomas. “We couldn't see anything. We were several miles down."

The incident is being investigated by Clayton County’s Office of Professional Standards and the GBI.