DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — The Douglasville Police Department has requested the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation following an officer-involved shooting early Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express on Concourse Parkway.
According to the GBI's Natalie Ammons, Tuesday's incident marks the 89th officer-involved shooting the agency has been asked to investigate during 2020.
According to preliminary information from the GBI, an officer on routine patrol saw a suspicious vehicle at the hotel, located in the 7100 block of Concourse Parkway at about 4:05 a.m.
The officer made contact with the two men inside the vehicle, later identified as 21-year-old Zion Dorsett of Lithonia and 31-year-old Christopher Wilson of East Point. While the officer was speaking with the men, a second officer arrived, the GBI said.
During the conversation, the GBI said, the officers were able to determine that the license tag on the vehicle was not registered it, and that the vehicle had been stolen.
According to the GBI, during the conversation, the vehicle abruptly backed up an embankment.
The GBI said the officers made an attempt to take the two men into custody. At that point, the vehicle drove aggressively toward the two officers.
One of the officers fired his weapon, striking the vehicle, they said.
The GBI said the vehicle left the parking lot and drove a short distance down the road before coming to a rest near the Sam's Club, located at 6995 Concourse Parkway.
Both men ran from the vehicle, but were taken into custody following a brief chase, the GBI said. No injuries were reported.
According to the GBI, Douglasville Police said they will be seeking charges against both men. The investigation indicates that prior to Tuesday morning's incident, both Dorsett and Wilson had attempted to break into numerous vehicles at the Holiday Inn Express hotel.
The GBI says they will continue their independent investigation. Once complete, it will be turned over to the Douglas County District Attorney's Office for review.