DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — Police shot and killed a man east of Atlanta early Tuesday after pursuing him from another suburb where a kidnapping was reported, authorities said.
A 911 caller in Chamblee reported the kidnapping, and the man was shot in downtown Decatur, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) to the south, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Officers were informed that the suspect had a handgun, the GBI said. They spotted the car in Chamblee, where it tried to speed away, followed it into Decatur and tried to stop it. When officers were able to stop the car, the man jumped out and ran down an embankment onto some railroad tracks, the GBI said.
Officers tried to use a stun gun on the man as they chased him but that effort was “ineffective,” the GBI said.
“The officers met the man on the railroad tracks,” the agency said in a statement. “During the encounter, officers fired their guns, striking the man.”
A handgun was found near the suspect, the GBI said. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Few details about the reported kidnapping were released, but the GBI said the male victim is safe. No officers were injured, the agency said.
The GBI said it was called in at the request of the police department in Chamblee. The agency is often asked to investigate shootings when police officers are involved.
Chamblee police denied an open records request by The Associated Press for 911 audio and any bodycam or dashcam video, citing an exemption for open investigations.
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