Man shot, killed by officers near metro Atlanta hospital ID’d as 36-year-old man, GBI says

Mary Royse Ginther
·2 min read
2

Authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting near a metro Atlanta hospital.

Snellville police told Channel 2 Action News on Saturday at 4:30 a.m. that officers were called to a person shot on Main Street W and Fountain Drive near Piedmont Eastside South Campus.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has since identified the man as 36-year-old Rashawn Johnson of Tucker.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The GBI says that Johnson was pulled over for driving a Hyundai Tucson without his headlights on. Throughout the stop, he had a phone in his hand, rolled down his window slightly and told the officer he wanted to call his mom several times.

The officer got Johnson’s ID and went back to his patrol car to request backup.

When he returned to the car, Johnson wouldn’t roll down the window or get out of the car, so the officer opened the door after telling him he was going to be arrested for obstruction.

Johnson had a gun in his hand and refused to put it down when officers told him to.

TRENDING STORIES:

Police told Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin that he pointed the gun at himself after he was pulled over.

“They opened the door to the vehicle. The told the man to step out. He refused and put a handgun up to his own head. Officers tried to negotiate, talk him down,” Detective Jeff Manley described.

At some point, the GBI says, Johnson fired a shot and officers returned fire, shooting Johnson in the head and killing him.

Several windows of the black SUV had been shot out.

Investigators say three officers fired their weapons and were not injured.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS: