ROSWELL — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a suspect has died after being shot by an officer in Roswell on Thursday morning.
Police say the suspect, who hasn't been identified, was shot at the Shell gas station off Atlanta Street around 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
According to investigators, the man at the counter inside the store got into an argument with the store clerk over not paying for something. That’s when an officer who was in the store stepped in.
The GBI says the man started to attack the officer with a blunt object so the officer shocked him with a Taser.
“(He) continued to attack the officer, at which time the officer fired his weapon, striking the suspect,” interim Roswell police Chief Helen Dunkin said.
The gas station owner said his employee saw it all happen.
“My employee thinks he was drunk, and he attacked the officer. The officer Tased him first and then he shot him,” Alex Hafezi said.
He said his employee told him the man was acting unusual.
“He said he opened his shirt and he had sticks inside his pants and pulled it out and started hitting the officer,” Hafezi said.
The officer was taken to a hospital with an arm injury. The suspect was also taken to the hospital and later died.
The gas station has been closed most of the day as police investigate. Hafezi said they have more than 20 surveillance cameras, and investigators are now reviewing that video.
[INTERACTIVE MAP: Shootings involving Georgia law enforcement for 2019]
This is the 41st officer shooting this year and fourth this week that the GBI has been called to investigate.
The first shooting happened early Sunday morning in Coweta County, where a deputy shot a homeless man after a chase. That man is in critical condition.
On Monday, two Athens officers shot and killed a man who was running at them with a knife. Dramatic body cam video captured the entire incident.
Overnight, an officer was involved in a shooting in Moultrie. The GBI says officers shot a man who fired a deer rifle at them.
Athens shooting:
Coweta County shooting:
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