A traffic stop in Cobb County turned deadly Wednesday after law enforcement shot a suspect, officials said.
The incident began around 5:30 p.m. on South Cobb Drive near Windy Hill Road, where law enforcement pulled over a driver who was a suspect in a drug investigation, the GBI said. The driver was identified by authorities as 26-year-old Peter Luna-Lopez of Marietta.
Cobb police Chief Stuart VanHoozer told reporters at the scene that the suspect tried to escape during the traffic stop. A police officer then used her patrol car to force Luna-Lopez’s truck off the road, according to the GBI.
Law enforcement approached the truck and, at some point, shot into it, the GBI said. Luna-Lopez was struck by the gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene.
Officials said Lopez had a handgun with him, but did not say if he fired the weapon at any point during the encounter. No law enforcement officers were injured.
“We extend our condolences to the family and the friends and those affected by the shooting,” VanHoozer said.
The incident came to an end in front of a Waffle House near where the traffic stop was initiated. An employee of the restaurant told Channel 2 Action News that she heard gunshots, ran outside and saw a pickup truck in a ditch. The truck was quickly surrounded by patrol vehicles and crime scene tape was strung up, the news station reported.
A witness, who only identified himself to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as Tony, said he heard between 25 to 50 shots and had to take cover as he tried to figure out where the gunfire was coming from.
“I saw multiple cars pulling up and multiple officers trying to, I guess, run after the suspect,” he said.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Luna-Lopez’s body was taken to the Cobb Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. The GBI will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting and hand over any findings to the Cobb district attorney for review.
The officer-involved shooting was the 91st such incident the GBI has been asked to investigate this year.
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