Just two days into the new year, the GBI has opened its first investigation into a police shooting in 2023.
The state agency was asked to investigate after Cobb County police shot a man they said raised a gun at officers Sunday evening in Mableton, authorities said.
Police received a call at about 7:45 p.m. reporting a man walking around a neighborhood on David Lane carrying a long gun for several hours, GBI officials said in a news release Monday evening. The man, later identified as 35-year-old Jose Razo, is accused of pointing his gun at several people while walking near his home.
After an exchange with officers that included demands for Razo to drop the weapon, he was shot after raising the firearm in the direction of officers, officials said. He then ran inside his home.
A Cobb County SWAT team arrived at the scene and he surrendered several hours later, according to the GBI.
Razo was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, the GBI said. After treatment, he was taken to the Cobb County jail.
No officers were injured during the incident, which marked the GBI’s first officer-involved shooting it has been asked to investigate in 2023.
The state agency will conduct an independent investigation. Once completed, it will turn over its findings to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review.
The GBI investigated 112 officer-involved shootings in 2022. That is 12 more than the year before.
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