Robbery suspect shoots Georgia police officer in shoulder

A police officer has been shot and wounded at a gas station in suburban Atlanta, authorities said.

County public safety director Cedric Alexander said the suspects’ Chevrolet Traverse hit a sign at a RaceTrac station when Vizcarrando tried stopping it, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Alexander said the detectives identified the suspected vehicle on I-285 and Lavista Road and requested backup from uniformed officers so the suspects would know they were being pulled over by police.

The officer, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital.

One suspect was taken into custody at the scene and was seen being put into a police auto by local media helicopters. He added that the 20-year veteran officer was alert and conscious.

One suspect was caught onsite.

The injury was a “through-and-through” shoulder wound and Vizcarrando, 47, was treated and released Friday night.

Crow and McCray then jumped out of the vehicle and ran. He said when the officer turned on the patrol car’s blue light, the vehicle sped off and the officer began to chase it.

The shootout happened less than 2 miles from DeKalb police headquarters.

‘The [officers] were taking deliberate shots, but we had bad guys who didn’t really care, they just fired at random’. Several lanes of Lawrenceville Highway were temporarily blocked during the police investigation.