Car Jacking in West Atlanta

Monday, December 28, 2015

Occasionally I get to cover a breaking news shift for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Some days are very slow and some are filled with news. The last Monday of 2015 I started my shift early in the morning when a call came through about an incident with Atlanta police where shots were fired. I got in the car and headed towards M.L.K. Jr. Drive in west Atlanta to find that the entire road had been cordoned off by crime scene tape.

In the early morning hours a man was allegedly carjacked. He was taken hostage by an unknown assailant and somehow managed to call a friend. The friend then called Atlanta police and the police pulled over the yellow mustang on MLK in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. The carjacker fired shots at officers and then fled the scene by taking the friend’s vehicle, who was also trying to find the car. A short chase ensued before the assailant dumped the car a mile or so down Fairburn Rd. and fled on foot.

An officer was released from Grady hospital and police were continuing to search for the suspect. Scary stuff for sure.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

A K-9 unit searches the area around a yellow mustang after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and Atlanta Police on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

An Atlanta Police cruiser is taken away on a wrecker as evidence after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and officers on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.

An Atlanta Police cruiser is taken away on a wrecker as evidence after a shootout between a car jacking suspect and officers on M.L.K. Jr. Dr. in between 285 and Brownlee Rd. in Atlanta on Monday, December 28, 2015.