Three Atlanta police officers shot, suspect dead

Three Atlanta Police Department officers were shot and injured, and the suspect is deceased, officials said. 

Officers responded around 5:15 p.m. local time on Saturday to a call about a man who was armed with a weapon, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum told reporters hours after the incident. 

Upon arriving at the scene, officers found a man armed with a handgun and a knife.

"During that encounter, there was a struggle. There was gunfire that resulted in three of our officers being injured. It also resulted in the death of the individual who was armed with the handgun," Schierbaum said. 

The injured officers include two 31-year-old officers who have both been with the department for four years as well as a 28-year-old officer who was a five-month veteran of the department. Two of the officers required surgery.

The chief also said that the investigation is in its "earliest stages, so we have a limited amount of information" about what happened.

The officers are "alert, conscious and breathing," Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. 

"Once again you can see guns are causing harm in our communities," he also said. 

While Atlanta's homicide rate so far this year has declined by 5% compared to the same time frame in 2023, it is still more than 20% higher than it was by this time in 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic, data shows.

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