Law enforcement officials were clearing the scene of a camp where a new police training facility is being built in suburban Atlanta when an exchange of gunfire broke out Wednesday, leaving one state trooper wounded and one man dead, according to The authorities.
Georgia State Patrol officers and several local agencies entered the wooded area Wednesday morning when the man suddenly opened fire on them, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Michael Register said at a news conference.
“An individual, without warning, shot at a Georgia State Patrol trooper,” the Register told reporters. “Other police personnel returned fire in self-defense and evacuated the policeman to a safe area. The individual who fired at the police and shot the policeman was killed in the exchange of fire.”
Police officers at the scene of a wooded area in DeKalb County where a Georgia State Trooper was injured and another man died Wednesday morning.
(Fox 5 Atlanta)
The soldier, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot in the abdomen and is in stable condition.
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Four people were detained at the site, where activists have been camping for the past year to protest the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center they refer to as “Cop City.”
The identities of the soldier who was injured and the man who died have not been released by police.
Four people were arrested Wednesday morning near the site of the new police training center.
(Bill Heath/FOX 5 Atlanta)
Last month, five people were arrested and charged with domestic terrorism after they allegedly threw rocks and police cars and attacked EMT workers near the site of the new facility.
Defend the Atlanta Forest, one of multiple groups protesting downtown, is holding vigils for the protester he killed.
“The police killed a defender of the forest today, someone who loved the forest, someone who fought to protect the land and its inhabitants,” the group tweeted.
Protesters have been camping around the scene of the new training facility for the past year.
(Fox 5 Atlanta)
Protesters have set up tents and other accommodation in the forest.
(Fox 5 Atlanta)
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has vowed to crack down on people camping at the site of the new training facility.
“While our thoughts remain with him and his family, our resolve also remains firm and strong to see the criminals brought to justice,” Kemp said Wednesday after the shooting.
