Officer shoots shoplifting suspect when he charges at her with machete, police say
A suspected shoplifter was shot multiple times after authorities said he charged at an officer while armed with a machete.
Officers got a call around 2:40 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15, about a man with a weapon in the pharmacy area of a Walmart store in Chamblee, Georgia, according to the state’s Bureau of Investigation.
The 22-year-old was also accused of shoplifting, Chamblee Police Chief Michael Dieppa told WXIA and WSB-TV.
A responding officer saw the man walking after he left the store and began to walk after him, state investigators said. The man kept going, ignoring the officer’s calls to “stop and show his hands,” authorities said.
That’s when police said the man walked into a road, beneath a MARTA train overpass, and brandished the weapon.
“The offender pulled out a machete from his waistband, viciously attempted to attack our officer, forcing her to discharge her firearm to protect herself,” Dieppa told WAGA.
The officer shot the man multiple times, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Authorities said the man continued to be combative, “assaulting two officers and two firefighters while they were providing aid.”
He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, investigators said.
The GBI said the shooting remains under investigation.
Chamblee is about 15 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Officer shoots shoplifting suspect when he charges at her with machete, police say."