Suspect Killed In Shooting That Injured Georgia Trooper Identified

ATLANTA, GA — The man who died in a shooting Wednesday morning that injured a Georgia State Patrol trooper has been identified as 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday.

The shooting took place around 9 a.m. at the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center near Constitution Road, the GBI said.

Authorities were in the area conducting a joint task force operation and were attempting to remove people from the site, also known as "Cop City."

The GBI said around 25 campsites were removed. Mortar style fireworks, multiple edged weapons, pellet rifles, gas masks and a blow torch were also recovered, the GBI said.

Three people who had been approached by authorities were let go from the scene, the GBI said.

Seven people were arrested on suspicion of domestic terrorism and criminal trespass and other charges. Those arrested were taken to the DeKalb County Jail.

During the operation, authorities approached a man in a tent who was sitting in the woods and gave him commands, the GBI said. The man did not comply, and instead, shot the trooper in the abdomen area near his pelvic, the GBI said.

Officers shot back, and the trooper was taken to the hospital. The trooper was wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time of the shooting, GSP Col. Chris Wright said.

Following surgery, the trooper was taken to the Intensive Care Unit, where he was in stable condition Wednesday afternoon, Wright said.

The man died at the scene, the GBI said.

Shell casings and a handgun were found at the scene, the GBI said.

After the GBI investigates the shooting, the case will be turned over to the Georgia Attorney General's Office and the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office.

This is the seventh shooting involving law enforcement the GBI has been asked to investigate.

Protesting at the Future Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

GBI Director Mike Register said Wednesday protesting at the training center has been ongoing for several months.

He accused protesters of committing arson, physically attacking and intimidating community members, using explosives and setting traps that he said can cause bodily harm.

"These individuals and groups have attempted to disguise their activities as protests against the building of this facility," he said. " ... (They) are not protests. They are criminal acts that destabilize communities and endanger citizens."

Register said the protesters include individuals and groups.

According to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, protests at the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center stretch as far back as a year ago when the Atlanta City Council approved a land lease, making way for the Atlanta Police Foundation to construct the $90 million training center. The facility is located on 300 acres of forestland owned by Atlanta in southwest DeKalb County, according to the AJC.

Protesters have been clashing with police over the training center's construction and vying to protect the forest on the land.

Five people were arrested on Dec. 13, 2022, on charges of domestic terrorism in what authorities said were a string of criminal acts. Barricades blocking some of the training center's entrances were removed, and police found explosive devices, gasoline and road flairs in the area, the GBI said at the time.

Rocks were thrown at police, and emergency medical technicians were attacked, the GBI said at the time.

“I don’t think people are defeated,” Community Movement Builders leader Kamau Franklin told the AJC in the past. “I think there are forest defenders who will continue to defend the forest. That means civil disobedience, that means rallies, demonstrations. That means all the tactics that we can use that we believe will be successful in convincing people that there’s no reason to build cop city.”

Register said when law enforcement approaches a protester at the site, the protester is asked to leave the property given there are no active criminal activities. He said this happened for two people Wednesday.

He deemed building the training center "a great thing for the community."