Police Investigate Deadly Officer-Involved Shooting
ATLANTA - A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting in downtown Atlanta Monday night, according to the Atlanta Police Department.
Police told FOX 5 the shooting happened before 8 p.m. after an officer attempted to make a traffic stop. APD Police Captain Adam Lee III said the officer saw two men in a red Jeep driving the wrong way on West Peachtree Street. When the officer tried to stop the driver, the SUV sped off and hit a bus and then a pole.
Lee said the driver of the car, identified as Isaiah Irby, was arrested but the armed passenger ran from the scene. Officers caught up with the passenger behind the Aloft hotel, where an exchange of gunfire occurred. The Atlanta Police Department said on Tuesday the fleeing suspect began shooting at the officers, which caused them to return fire. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Darius Smith, was shot and killed.
Three officers were involved in the shooting but they were not injured, according to Lee. We've learned they have been put on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
Investigators said some of the following items were found inside the vehicle Irby was driving: 2.04 pounds of marijuana, 60.60 grams of cocaine, 10 ecstasy pills, $6,000 in cash, several handguns, a black mask and guns.
Irby is being held at the Fulton County jail. He has been charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and trafficking cocaine.
People in the area described the scene as chaotic and frightening. Khalil Carter works in a building next to the Aloft. He told FOX 5 he heard 15 to 20 shots fired.
“There were so many police cars securing off the area...even after the gun incident happened you could see a lot of flashlights. We heard [officers] down here saying, “Let me see your hands, let me see your hands,” Carter said.
Detectives found cash, large amounts of marijuana and a gun inside the suspect's vehicle, as well as a gun outside of the vehicle, which wrecked near Ted Turner Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard.
The deceased suspect's identity is not known at this time. Investigators blocked off Ted Turner Drive from Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard to John Portman Boulevard during the course of the investigation.