ATLANTA — Atlanta police are investigating after an officer was involved in a shooting incident early Sunday morning that left one person dead and another injured.
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Police said the incident happened just before 2 a.m. at a large gathering near the intersection of James Jackson Parkway and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive in northwest Atlanta. According to Deputy Chief Timothy Peek, officers were working a directed patrol as the gathering had drawn over 800 people.
According to Channel 2′s Kristen Holloway, the gathering was a celebration of the former Bowen Homes public housing project that used to occupy the area.
Atlanta Public Housing demolished Bowen Homes in June of 2009.
Peek said that officers on the scene heard an exchange of gunfire between at two men who fired several shots. One of the officers returned fire, but Peek says he did not know if the officers shots hit any of the victims.
One of the shooting victims died on the scene, the other was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the man who died as 38-year-old Gabriel “Sam” Parker from Atlanta.
The community is holding a vigil for Parker on Sunday night starting at 7 p.m.
Investigators said there were multiple discarded guns found once the crowd cleared from the gathering.
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The GBI will continue the investigation and report their findings to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for a review.
The GBI says this is the 56th officer involved shooting they’ve been asked to investigate in 2021.
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