The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued the following news release about the shooting in Cobb County that left the suspect dead and two police officers injured:

At the request of the Cobb County Police Department, GBI agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in Cobb County, Georgia. One man died in the incident. Two officers were shot and injured.

The preliminary information indicates on Friday, September 27, 2024, at about 11:45 p.m., Smyrna Police Department officers responded to Adventure Outdoors, 2500 S. Cobb Drive, in reference to a burglary in progress. When officers arrived on scene, they were met by an employee who indicated someone was inside the business. Smyrna officers made contact with a man and asked him to come outside. Once outside, officers attempted to place the man into custody. The man got away from officers and began firing a rifle that was slung around his neck, hitting two Smyrna officers in the leg. 

Three Cobb County police officers had arrived on scene just prior to the shooting. The Cobb County officers fired their duty weapons, killing the man. The two injured Smyrna officers were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cobb County PD SWAT was called to clear the business of any other occupants. The identity of the man killed is not known at this time.

The man will be taken to the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

The GBI will conduct an independent investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office for review.

The GBI’s role in officer-involved shootings

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation routinely investigates the shooting of individuals by police officers, as well as any time an officer discharges a firearm while on duty, at the request of the police agency involved in the shooting.

Natalie Ammons, the Deputy Director of the GBI’s Office of Public Affairs explained to us how the system works.

Police agencies are not required to request outside investigation of officer involved shootings, and there is no formal agreement between the GBI and local police departments.

But police agencies make the request so that an independent agency does the investigation in an incident involving their own officers.

The investigations are carried out by Special Agents in a regional office within the area where the police agency is located. Cobb County, and much of the rest of metro Atlanta, is in the GBI’s Region 10, based in Conyers.

In Region 10, officer involved shootings and corruption investigations are the primary investigations Special Agents do, while in more rural areas with fewer police resources the agents handle a wider range of criminal investigations.

There is no special unit or division that conducts the investigation of officer involved shootings.

The announcements of the investigations can be found at the GBI’s press release web page.