(New Details) Police Shoot at SUV After Driver Hits Three Officers

Updated, 5:45 p.m.

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Officers opened fire on an SUV in a Snellville neighborhood Tuesday morning after the driver struck three officers, according to Gwinnett Police.

One suspect, a teenage boy from Atlanta, is in custody, but a second person is still on the loose, police said in a news release late Tuesday afternoon.

Atiba Hunter, 16, who was arrested, was grazed by a bullet, but he was treated and released by paramedics at the scene, Cpl. Deon Washington said in the news release.

The three officers have been treated and released from a local hospital. One of the officers sustained a possible broken foot, Washington said. The other two officers suffered minor injuries.

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Hunter has been charged with three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of theft by receiving and one count of entering auto.

Washington said efforts are “underway to identify and locate” the second suspect.

The incident, which included a high speed chase with patrol cars, K9 units and a police helicopter in pursuit, began as a theft-in-progress call just before 2 a.m. in the 4200 block of Gray Raptor Court in Snellville. The caller told police two males wearing dark clothing were trying to break into cars.

When police arrived, the suspects got into a red 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan that was later reported stolen out of DeKalb County. The driver rammed the SUV into a parked car, and then into one of the officers who was on foot before driving away.

Around 2:05 a.m., Washington said the suspects abandoned the SUV at Raptor Place and Raptor Court and continued on foot.

At 3:09 a.m., a report came to police about a suspicious person in the 4200 block of Medlock Park Drive, police said. The males, who were wearing back packs and carrying flashlights, ran away when a car alarm sounded, the caller reported.

At 3:23, a Gwinnett Police helicopter saw a black 2010 Infiniti SUV going at a high rate of speed, jumping a curb near Yosemite Park Lane and continuing towards Mink Livsey Road, police said. Police chased the suspects onto Notting Glen Lane, which has a dead end cul-de-sac and then continued the pursuit on foot.

Cornered, the suspects turned around and drove at offers, striking two of them.

“An officer fired several rounds at the driver side window of the vehicle,” Washington said. “The suspect’s continued past the officers.”

At 3:32, the police helicopter pilot saw the suspects wreck into a telephone pole and abandon the car near Highpoint Road at Springdale Drive. They fled on foot.

At 3:37, Hunter was apprehended.

Washington said police continued searching for the other suspect in a 1 to 2-mile radius from the crash site, but wasn’t found.

The investigation continues.

Contributing: Scott Bernarde