ATLANTA—The latest on the gun battle involving police in downtown Atlanta that left one man dead (all times local):
4 p.m.
Atlanta police say an 18-year-old killed Monday night during a gunfight fired first at officers after running from a traffic accident.
A statement released by Director of Public Affairs Elizabeth Espy on Tuesday afternoon says Darius Smith fled after the car he was riding in crashed. The statement says Smith ran into the rear parking lot of the Aloft Downtown Atlanta hotel and began shooting at several police officers.
The statement says police returned fire, “striking the suspect multiple times, which resulted in his death.”
Espy’s statement identified the driver as 18-year-old Isaiah Irby of Greer, South Carolina. Irby also fled the car after the crash. He has been charged with possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and trafficking cocaine.
___
12:20 p.m.
Atlanta police say three of the department’s officers fired their weapons during a shootout with a gunman in downtown Atlanta on Monday evening.
Atlanta police Maj. Adam Lee III says an officer was patrolling downtown shortly before 8 p.m. Monday when a Jeep was spotted driving the wrong way. When the officer attempted to stop the Jeep, it sped up, struck a shuttle bus and then a pole.
Police say at least two men were in the Jeep. Police say the driver was arrested, but the passenger ran behind the Aloft Downtown Atlanta hotel with a gun, exchanged fire with officers and was shot multiple times.
Mark Guilbeau, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, identified the dead man as 18-year-old Darius Smith of Greer, South Carolina.
___
10:45 a.m.
Authorities say a man killed in a gunfight with police officers in a busy downtown area of Atlanta was from South Carolina.
Mark Guilbeau, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office, identified him as 18-year-old Darius Smith of Greer, South Carolina.
Atlanta police Maj. Adam Lee III says an officer was patrolling downtown shortly before 8 p.m. Monday when a Jeep was spotted driving the wrong way. When the officer attempted to stop the Jeep, it sped up, struck a shuttle bus and then a pole.
The driver and passenger fled. The passenger ran behind a hotel and exchanged gunfire with officers. Witnesses say officers ducked behind cars as gunshots whizzed through the busy area, not far from several high-rise convention hotels.
Lee says Smith was found dead behind a trash bin. Lee says the driver was arrested.
