A woman suspected of stabbing two people inside a downtown Atlanta bus station was shot by police Thursday night when she refused to put down two knives, officials said.
Bryana Coleman, 23, walked up to the counter at the Greyhound station on Forsyth Street and stabbed a man and a woman, according to the GBI. She was shot when she walked out of the bus station and was confronted by an Atlanta police officer, the state agency said.
The GBI is investigating the incident as an officer-involved shooting.
“We never want to use force, but when we are placed in those unfortunate situations, we do the best we can to resolve them,” Atlanta police Deputy Chief Timothy Peek told reporters from the scene.
About 10:30 p.m., an officer responded to the stabbing and was flagged down by a Greyhound employee, Peek said. He was quickly able to identify the suspect, who was still armed with a knife in each hand, according to the deputy chief.
“The officer approached that person and started giving verbal commands, and that person was armed at that particular point with two knives in their hand,” he said. “The officer continued to give commands to drop the knife and the subject just would not do that.”
According to the GBI, the officer fired once and was not injured. Coleman was taken into custody and was said to be stable Friday morning.
The two stabbing victims ran out a back door before police arrived, GBI spokesperson Natalie Ammons said. They were also stable Friday, and it was not clear if either knew the suspect. A motive in the stabbing was not disclosed.
“The two knives were recovered from the scene,” Ammons said. “The woman was taken to Atlanta Medical Center and the two victims were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.”
It is the second time this week the state agency has investigated a shooting at the request of the Atlanta Police Department. On Monday, Officer David Rodgers was shot six times while attempting to arrest a man wanted on robbery and other charges.
Rodgers, an 11-year APD veteran and member of the gang unit, is recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital. Christian Eppinger, 22, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting in the Old Hapeville Road area. He is a known member of the Young Slime Life gang, a local subset of the Bloods criminal street gang, and was out of jail on probation at the time Rodgers was shot, authorities said.
The officer’s unit has started a GoFundMe campaign to help with his recovery. It had raised nearly $30,000 of its $200,000 goal as of Friday.
Thursday’s police shooting is the 12th investigated by the GBI this year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
About the Author
