An unidentified suspect who shot an Alpharetta police officer three times Friday night was killed following a high-speed chase, closing Ga. 400 southbound for several hours, a police spokesman said.
The officer is in stable condition at North Fulton Hospital and is expected to recover, said Alpharetta Police Ofc. George Gordon. A female motorist shot by the suspect as he fled from police was taken to the same hospital and is expected to be okay, he said.
“This individual, for whatever reason, decided to shoot a police officer,” Gordon said. “We’re grateful our officer is going to be okay, from all indications.”
After the second shooting the suspect crashed just north of the Northridge Road exit, Gordon said. The man fled from his black Isuzu truck, shooting at the officers, hitting four patrol cars. Police returned fire and killed the suspect just off the highway, Gordon said. No other officers were injured.
Authorities reopened all lanes on Georgia 400 southbound Saturday morning after closing the busy highway for several hours overnight to investigate the shooting.
The chain of events began around 8:30 p.m. on Main Street in Alpharetta, where the suspect was pulled over for a tag violation in the parking lot of a Christian bookstore, Gordon said. The officer, wearing a safety vest, was shot as he approached the vehicle though he was able to return fire, the spokesman said.
The suspect fled in his truck down Highway 9, where Roswell police joined the chase. It’s believed he accessed Ga. 400 at Holcomb Bridge Road, Gordon said, not far from where the pursuit ended.
It was the second shooting on a Georgia freeway in two days. On Thursday afternoon an unidentified man believed to be a Miami rap executive was shot dead in a Maybach luxury car on I-20 in DeKalb County.
Gordon said the GBI will assist in its investigation of the officer shooting.
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