Police: Man shot with his own gun after assaulting ex-girlfriend

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Atlanta police are searching for a key piece of evidence in an early morning assault on Hank Aaron Drive in Southeast Atlanta.

Officers were called to respond to a shooting just before 3 in the morning on Saturday. When they arrived, they found a man shot in the chest. He was rushed to the hospital and is in stable condition.

APD discovered that he was shot after he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and pulled a gun on her. Police said that woman's family member came to defend her and got into a physical fight with the attacker.

The family member wrangled the gun away from the man and shot him in the chest.

Officers said this case took a bizarre turn when they asked for the gun and it was nowhere to be found. They had K-9 officers searching for the gun, but they have not recovered it yet. Police said they're worried the gun will get into the wrong hands and be used to hurt someone else.

The woman involved was taken to the hospital for injuries she got during the assault. She is expected to be okay.

The assailant will be facing charges once he is released from the hospital. Police said the family member will likely not face charges because he was defending the woman.