A suspect was killed and three people were injured, including a Fulton County sheriff’s deputy, after two armed robberies Monday in southwest Atlanta led to a wild shootout, officials said.
The incident began with a robbery at a Krispy Kreme shop along Evans Street around 5:15 p.m., according to the GBI. The area is just off Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood.
A Krispy Kreme employee quickly flagged down the deputy, who was working an off-duty job, and noted that the suspect was still nearby, according to the GBI. The deputy, Lt. Gerald Johnson, “ran toward danger,” Fulton Sheriff Pat Labat told reporters at a news conference outside of Grady Memorial Hospital.
Johnson found the suspect around the corner from the Krispy Kreme and behind an Easy Rental store on Lee Street, the GBI said. The suspect, later identified as 42-year-old Robert Douglas Smith of Atlanta, was armed with an assault rifle, according to the state agency.
The two exchanged gunfire as Johnson retreated behind a car, but both were struck. Johnson suffered a non-life-threatening injury to his hand, while Smith was killed. The deputy was taken to a hospital and was released soon after, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators later discovered that Smith had shot two employees at the Easy Rental store while attempting to rob it as well, officials said.
Johnson joined the sheriff’s office in 1993 and had previously retired, Labat said, before being rehired in recent years.
The GBI will investigate the shooting at the request of the sheriff’s office, Labat said, while Atlanta police will investigate the initial incident.
It was the second officer-involved shooting in as many days, according to the GBI. Early Sunday, a man exchanged gunfire with a Hall County deputy after fleeing a traffic stop, according to investigators.
Earlier Monday, another fatal shooting was reported in the West End neighborhood. A 19-year-old was shot and killed about a mile away, Atlanta police said. Streets in the area were blocked off as officers searched for a suspect and gathered evidence, but police have not announced any arrests in that case.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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