Carjacking suspect dead, officer expected to recover after police shootout in Forest Park

FOREST PARK, Ga. - The man, who police say carjacked a woman at a Forest Park gas station before getting into a shootout with officers, has died. One of the officers involved was also injured.

The deadly confrontation happened shortly before 12:15 p.m. Monday in the 3800 block of Jonesboro Road SE, but started a quarter-mile away at the Texaco gas station close one of the former entrances to Fort Gillem near Main Street. That is where Forest Park Police Chief Brandon Chriss says his officers were flagged down by a woman in the area reporting a carjacking had just taken place.

Chief Chriss says a man took a silver Chevy Malibu at gunpoint from the woman and drove about a few blocks away before attempting to turn into a parking lot, but got struck by a semi-truck. 

The man, whose identity has not yet been released, then got out, pointed his gun at a semi-truck driver, but did not fire, Chief Chriss says. When officers arrived, they found the man walking down the road carrying two firearms, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

He then was confronted by pursuing officers, and ordered to drop his weapons, the GBI says. Instead, investigators say the man raised his arms and began firing. Officers returned fire, striking the man. An unidentified officer was also injured.

The man was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was rushed into surgery, but later died. His body will be taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.

The police officer was transported to Southern Regional Medical Center with "minor injuries." 

The woman who was carjacked was "traumatized," but was OK.

A motive behind the initial carjacking remains under investigation.

FOX 5 arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting and saw multiple law enforcement agencies on the scene near one of the entrances to the former Fort Gillem. 

The GBI has been asked to investigate the shooting, which is standard procedure when a shooting involves a police officer. The results of the investigation will be turned over to the Clayton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.

This is the 68th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year. There were 87 investigations during the same time period in 2022.

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