A 41-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot by officers who were called to check on him Saturday night at a North Georgia apartment complex, officials said.
The shooting was one of two such incidents involving law enforcement in metro Atlanta over a five-hour span, authorities said. The other happened in Newton County.
Clarkesville police had been requested to conduct a wellness check around 6:15 p.m. at the Cameron Apartments after getting word of a possible suicidal person, identified as Aaron Allen Patterson, according to the GBI. The complex is located on Cameron Circle near U.S. 441.
After the officers were unable to find Patterson at his apartment, a Demorest police officer, who arrived as backup, saw him walking nearby with a handgun, according to the state agency. At that point, Habersham County deputies also responded to assist the other officers at the scene.
Upon seeing law enforcement at the complex, officials said Patterson ran and was later seen holding a rifle.
“When the officer spoke with Patterson, he turned toward the officers with the rifle,” the GBI added. “At that point, multiple officers fired at Patterson.”
Patterson sustained several gunshot wounds and was flown to a hospital, where he was still being treated Sunday, the state agency said. No officers were injured during the incident.
Just hours earlier, an armed man was fatally shot by an off-duty Rockdale County sheriff’s deputy at an apartment complex in Newton County. According to the GBI, Ivan Felton, of Covington, was chasing and shooting at a resident at the complex around 2 p.m. when the off-duty deputy returned fire. Fenton was pronounced dead at the scene.
The GBI will conduct an investigation into the Clarkesville shooting. Once completed, the case file will be given to the Mountain Judicial Circuit district attorney for review.
The incident was the 65th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2024. At this point last year, the state agency had opened investigations into 67 such shootings.
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