March 2nd, 2024
Multiple suspects are being sought after a 15-year-old was shot when police exchanged gunfire with what they described as an "unruly crowd" of up to 600 people near the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park in suburban Atlanta, authorities say.
The shooting erupted around 6:15 p.m. Saturday on a service road just off the 290-acre theme park's property in Austell, about 17 miles northwest of Atlanta, according to the Cobb County Police Department.
Before the shooting, Cobb County police officers were called to the park by Six Flags Over Georgia security to help disperse "a sizeable unruly crowd" of 500 to 600 people "running through the park and fighting," Cobb County police said.
When police arrived, they were confronted by a large crowd leaving the park, which was celebrating its opening day of the season, according to authorities.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is leading an investigation into the shooting, said in a statement Sunday afternoon that preliminary information indicates Cobb County officers were responding to assist with crowd control near the park's entrance "after several fights had taken place amongst patrons" leaving the park.
"At some point, multiple people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied CCPD marked patrol car," according to the GBI statement. "As officers identified where the shots were coming from, they ran after people who had run into the woods. During the incident, one CCPD officer fired his weapon, hitting one minor."
The wounded teenager was taken to Grady Hospital in Atlanta, where he was in critical condition on Sunday, according to the GBI. The teenager's name was not released.
A handgun was recovered by police near where they located the wounded teenager, according to the GBI.
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