BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — A Brookhaven officer shot an armed suspect late Thursday night, the police department said, after officers responded to a burglary call, a chase ensued and ended in a crash, and then the suspect "confronted" the officers outside the vehicle.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later identified the person shot as 19-year-old Albert Burns of Snellville. Brookhaven PD said he was in critical, but stable, condition after being taken to a hospital.
Two others were taken into custody in the incident, and a fourth is at large.
The shooting incident took place at the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Chamblee. According to Brookhaven Police, this followed the response to a burglary call on Caldwell Road around 10 p.m.
Brookhaven PD said officers learned while on their way to the burglary call that "gunfire was exchanged between the suspects and a resident of the home."
"Responding officers located the suspect vehicle as it fled the area. A traffic stop was initiated but the suspects continued to flee. The ensuing pursuit ended as the suspects’ vehicle wrecked at the intersection of Chamblee Dunwoody Rd. and Peachtree Industrial Blvd.," a Brookhaven PD statement said. "At that moment, officers were confronted by an armed suspect outside of the vehicle. An officer discharged his firearm, striking the suspect."
The GBI later added details about how the incident unfolded:
While the homeowner was looking at her home surveillance video, she saw four armed gunmen inside her home. The homeowner contacted a friend who responded to the home and confronted the armed suspects. A shootout took place between the suspects and the homeowner’s friend. As the suspects drove off in a Lexus, a responding officer observed the car leaving the neighborhood. The officer pursued the suspects’ car into the city of Chamblee where the car wrecked near a utility pole. The four suspects got out of the car and started to run away. Burns, the driver of the car, had a gun in hand. The officer fired his gun and hit Burns. Burns dropped a gun, but continued to run. While running, he dropped a second gun. The officer shot Burns again while he was trying to pick up the gun. Burns was taken into custody and is at a local hospital.
Two other suspects were taken into custody, police said, with the help of officers from Chamblee, Doraville and Dunwoody. They were identified by the GBI as an 18-year-old and 22-year-old.
Police added that none of the other suspects were injured, no officers were injured and no residents of the home where things began were injured.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist in the investigation of the shooting, as is protocol.
"Anyone with information about the fourth suspect’s location should contact police. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online (https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online), or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app," the GBI said.