DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County police officer, who was shot after going to the wrong house responding to a burglary call Monday night, is in serious condition.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said early investigation indicates the injured officer was likely shot accidentally by one of the other officers on the scene.
DeKalb County Director of Public Safety Cedric Alexander told Channel 2 Action News police officers were called to the 1500 block of Boulderwoods Drive off Bouldercrest Road for a report of a suspicious person in the neighborhood Monday night.
Alexander said the caller did not give a numerical address, only a description of a home where the suspicious person was seen.
Alexander said the officers found a home they thought fit the description and went into a backyard.
Officers noticed the back door was unlocked and went inside, and for an unknown reason, gunfire erupted.
“It was determined that a dog was shot and killed inside the residence,” Alexander said. “A DeKalb County officer was shot as well.”
A man in the house, later determined to be the homeowner, left a room off the kitchen and was also shot by the officers, the GBI said.
The homeowner was shot in the leg and taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
A DeKalb police officer was shot in the hip and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. The officer underwent surgery and is in serious, but stable condition, according to the GBI. Early investigation indicates that the injured officer was likely shot accidentally by one of the other officers on the scene, according to the GBI.
Early investigation by GBI revealed no indication of criminal activity at the residence where the officers responded and the shooting occurred, the GBI said.
“The GBI will conduct an independent investigation to determine what occurred during the incident. When the investigation is complete it will be turned over to the district attorney for any action the district attorney deems appropriate,” the GBI said in a statement.
It was later determined the officers went to the wrong house.
Police never suggested the homeowner had a gun or threatened the officer.
They did confirm the house they should have gone to is farther down the street.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out the homeowner,” Alexander said. “And our thoughts and prayers go out to the officer who suffered a severe, critical injury here tonight and lost a lot of blood. We just hope both of them recover well.”
Neighbor Bob Gilman has lived next door to the home where the shooting happened since 1971. He says the neighborhood has seen a lot of crime.
“This is a rough area. We have a lot of crime… robberies, burglaries, shootings,” Gilman said.
Alexander told Channel 2 Action News Monday that because of the nature of the investigation, they handed the case over to the GBI.
All three officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, Alexander said.
Stay with WSBTV.com and watch Channel 2 Action News for the latest on this developing story.