A DeKalb County police officer was critically injured, a homeowner injured and dog killed in a shooting Monday night.
Three officers were responding to a report of suspicious person, but instead went to the wrong home in the 1500 block of Boulderwoods Drive, near Bouldercrest Road, Cedric Alexander, director of public safety, said late Monday. Officers weren’t given a street address, but went to a home matching the description given by a 911 caller, Alexander said.
When officers got to the rear of the house, they found an unlocked screen and unlocked door and believed an intruder was inside, according to police. Officers announced their presence, but it wasn’t known how it escalated to gunfire.
Both an officer and a homeowner, whose names were not released, were shot and a dog was killed inside the home, Alexander said. But officers determined it was not the correct home.
“The residence that these officers responded to is the wrong residence that was in question,” Alexander said.
The officer, shot in the thigh, was in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital. The homeowner was also being treated for injuries, but his condition was not known, Alexander said. At least one officer discharged his gun, but no information was released on whether the homeowner also had a gun.
“A lot is yet to be determined here as to what and when shots were fired, how the officer received injuries, how the homeowner received injuries,” Alexander said. “But we did respond to the wrong residence tonight.”
The GBI was called to assist with the investigation, Alexander said.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out the homeowner,” Alexander said. “And our thoughts and prayers go out to the officer who suffered a severe, critical injury here tonight and lost a lot of blood. We just hope both of them recover well.”
A next-door neighbor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he heard sirens and was shocked to learn his neighbor had been shot. A resident on the street since 1971, Bob Gilman said the neighborhood is a high-crime area.
“This is the southeast side of town, so we do have a lot of crime over here, robberies, burglaries, shootings,” Gilman said. “Southeast Atlanta is relatively high-crime area that I live in.”
The officers involved were placed on administrative leave, Alexander said.
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