ATLANTA — The Atlanta officer who was shot in the face exiting an elevator in a Midtown apartment building in an ambush was identified Thursday as Khuong Thai.
Officer Thai was said to be in stable condition after the incident on Wednesday. He was taken to the hospital with injuries that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said were not life-threatening.
Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said the officer was able to speak.
"It is only through their training and by the grace of God that these officers did not come upon a more tragic situation," Bryant said.
The suspect who allegedly fired at Thai, who was also identified Thursday as 29-year-old Joseph Lee Humbles, was killed in the incident.
It happened shortly after 1 p.m. in the 700 block of Peachtree Street near the Solace on Peachtree Apartments in the heart of midtown.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said two Atlanta Police officers were responding to a "shots fired" call when the encounter happened.
"These officers were ambushed and even with one of the officers being struck, they quickly responded and the courage that was displayed, really I don't have the words to describe," Bottoms said.
Police said that gunfire erupted when officers got out of the elevator on the 8th floor of the building.
"Officers were able to return fire where we believe that one suspect was fatally struck. Officers then were taken downstairs and taken to Grady Hospital," APD Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said.
According to APD, the suspect was involved in a shooting with another man before police arrived. The man sustained non-life threatening injuries, officials said.
Bryant said a second officer was injured in a traffic accident responding to the shooting.