Police: Slider suspect involved in chase, shooting with officers

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Police from multiple agencies swarmed the area around an Atlanta high school after a chase ended and a suspect confronted officers exchanging gunfire. Police said the shooting sent both an officer and the suspect to an area hospital.

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According to Atlanta Police Department, the chase began as part of an investigation into a chain of car thefts and slider crimes in the Atlanta, East Point, and Cobb County areas.

Police told FOX 5 News that they believed a white Dodge Durango was connected to the crime spree, and that East Point and Atlanta police officers were working in tandem to investigate the suspect.

Tuesday morning, undercover officers and aerial units were following the 27-year-old suspect. Around 3:30, along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, police said the unidentified suspect realized he was being followed and made a sharp turn on Whitehouse Drive, ending up right near Booker T Washington High School.

During this attempt to flee, police said the suspect crashed into two undercover vehicles and then used his car as a weapon to hit multiple other vehicles as well as an officer.

At that time, police said multiple East Point and Atlanta officers fired upon the suspect, injuring him.

Both the suspect and injured officer has been transported to the hospital. The officer was listed in stable condition with a possible concussion and leg injury. The suspect is alert, conscious, and breathing.

Atlanta Public Schools said while shooting was not inside the school itself, the school was placed on lockdown as a precautionary measure.

Police also said that earlier Tuesday, the suspect gave a ride to another passenger to Six Flags Over Georgia. That passenger is also a suspect in the car thefts, police said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said their agents have been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting.