DEKALB COUNTY, Ga — A Georgia State Patrol trooper was shot, and the protester who shot him was shot and killed during a raid at the site of a proposed Atlanta Police Department training facility on Wednesday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
Officials said the trooper was in the ICU and had surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital. He was shot in his pelvic area and was wearing a bulletproof vest during the incident.
GBI Director Mike Register said several agencies raided near the proposed facility that morning. As law enforcement moved through the property, officers found a man inside a tent in the woods.
The GBI released a photo of the tent where the suspect was found.
Officers gave verbal commands to the man, but he did not comply. He then shot a Georgia State Patrol Trooper. That’s when officers returned fire in self-defense, according to the GBI.
Law enforcement officers shot and killed the person who shot the trooper. The shooter’s identity has not been released.
The GBI says the raid was to remove protesters who were at the facility illegally.
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“We would just like to ask for everyone’s thoughts and prayers for his family during this difficult time,” GSP Colonel Chris Wright said.
A Channel 2 Action News photographer saw officers with guns drawn and trained in the woods. According to the GBI, at least four people have been arrested.
Register said building the training center is great for the city, but he supports the right to protest even though he feels protesters have gone over the line several times.
“They’re endangering the community and the citizens in this area,” Register said.
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Protesters disagreed with how the GBI described this incident, telling Channel 2′s Tom Jones that the protest was peaceful.
The facility, which protesters have nicknamed “Cop City,” has been controversial to many.
Protestors say the facility would be wrong for the community and the environment. The proposed facility would take up an 85-acre plot off Key Road in the largest urban forest in metro Atlanta.
Last month, protestors had to be forcibly removed from trees in the area of the proposed facility.
The GBI says the investigation remains active.
As of early Wednesday evening, there was still a significant police presence outside the proposed facility.
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