Authorities reported that A 15-year-old boy was shot and injured. after a shootout broke out between police and a “unruly crowd” of approximately 600 people near Six Flags Over Georgia amusement parkin the suburbs of Atlanta.
Saturday on a service road right next to the 290-acre theme park 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 for Six Flags Over Georgia security to help disperse “a sizable rebel crowd” of 500 to 600 people who were “running around the park and fighting.”
Cobb County police said in a statement to ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta that when officers arrived at the scene they encountered a large crowd leaving the park, which was celebrating the opening day of the park. season.
“Sometime, several people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied patrol car marked by the CCPD“according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is leading an investigation into the shooting.
“When the officers identified where the shots were coming from, they ran after the people who had run into the woods. During the incident, a CCPD officer fired his weapon and injured a juvenile“added the agency.
The injured teen, who was not identified, was taken to Grady Hospital in Atlanta, where he was in critical condition Sunday.
Police recovered a gun near where they located the injured teen, according to the GBI.
“It is incredibly disappointing that our community is being disrupted at public events across the region by groups of underage youth. Like other places in the area, we are committed to keeping these types of problems out of our park and off our property,” he said in a Six Flags Over Georgia statement.
The shooting occurred on South Service Road, which is not owned or operated by Six Flags, according to theme park officials.
“However, we join our community and the Atlanta region in our commitment to safety and security. We will not tolerate that type of activity here,” park officials added.
“All visitors are expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is not welcome,” they noted.
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