The GBI is investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened before dawn Friday in Columbus.
An officer got into a shootout with a suspect being chased by police and wounded the suspect, according to authorities. No officers were injured during the incident.
Columbus Police Chief F.D. Blackmon asked the GBI to investigate the shooting, which is at least the third officer-involved shooting in Georgia so far this year, according to the state agency.
According to police, officers dispatched to a call of shots fired responded to a cul-de-sac near Habitat Drive and Annette Avenue. The officers spotted the suspect leaving the area in a vehicle and pursued the vehicle for about three blocks.
Police said the suspect got out of the vehicle at Buena Vista Road and Chesterfield Avenue and fired his gun at the officer, who returned fire.
A GBI spokesperson confirmed Saturday that the state agency has opened a probe into the shooting.
The incident is also being investigated internally by the Columbus Police Department’s Office of Professional Standards. Neither the officer nor the suspect was named in a news release from the police department.
It was the second time this week a Columbus police officer fired his weapon at a suspect.
An officer shot at a vehicle that sped toward police in an unrelated call Wednesday night, according to authorities.
The GBI is not investigating that shooting, according to department officials. Instead, the Columbus Police Department announced an internal investigation.
The officer was among a group that responded to calls about a suspicious vehicle on Fall Drive just before 9 p.m. Police found the car parked at the dead end of the road, according to the news release.
As officers approached the vehicle to talk to the person inside, the car began easing toward them, the release said.
“Verbal commands were given to the driver of the vehicle, at which time the vehicle accelerated towards the officers, placing their lives in jeopardy,” a department spokesperson said in the release. “As the vehicle accelerated towards the officers, one officer discharged his departmental-issued firearm towards the suspect.”
The driver continued south and struck a parked car, according to the release. It was not clear if the driver was injured. One of the responding officers sustained minor injuries.
The police department’s Office of Professional Standards and its Bureau of Investigative Services will investigate the shooting, according to Blackmon.
The officers who fired shots in both incidents have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcomes of their respective investigations, Blackmon confirmed.
Anyone with information about either shooting is urged to contact Columbus police at 706-653-3400. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Columbus at 706-653-3188.
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