DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a group of thieves was so bold that they attacked a man outside a DeKalb County restaurant and then opened fire on an off-duty officer Monday night.
The officer shot two of the suspects, wounding one and killing another, according to police. Two other men got away, police said.
Channel 2's Tom Jones was in DeKalb County where a Clarkston police officer was working a part-time security detail Monday night at the Red Lobster on Candler Road.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the officer saw a man in the parking lot who had been robbed.
According to the GBI, the officer approached him to help, when four other men got into a car and started shooting at the officer and victim as they drove away.
The officer shot at the men in the car, hitting two of them, police said. The gunmen sped off but stopped at a Wendy's down the street where two of them took off running. Police are still searching for them.
The two other men were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where police said one of them died.
That man’s family identified him as Darion Jones.
They told Channel 2's Tom Jones he was not a robber and that they do not believe the officer's version of what happened.
On Thursday, the GBI identified Jones as being 26 years old. They said the other person involved in the shooting is Qasim Abdullah, 20, who remains in the hospital.
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Family members at the scene said they will not stop until they get to the bottom of what happened.
Meanwhile, neighbors told Jones the area has gotten so violent, they are afraid to even walk down the street.
DeKalb Police Officer Edgar Flores was murdered about a mile away on Candler Road less than a month ago.
"We have people walking around here who are openly packing guns," one neighbor told Thomas. "It's gotten to the point where it's scary.'
Cox Media Group
