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Officer opens fire responding to road rage incident, police say
Atlanta police say an officer in plain clothes on patrol spotted a woman on top of a car along West Peachtree Street near 16th Street. The officer went to intervene, but ended up shooting the man involved, police say. The case is now under investigation by the GBI.
ATLANTA - West Peachtree Street at the 16th Street intersection in Midtown Atlanta was completely blocked and turned into a crime scene Tuesday evening. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said a plain clothes officer tried to intervene during a road rage incident and opened fire, killing one of the drivers.
Investigators said the drivers of a white Mercedes and a white Tesla were in an argument at around 8 p.m. at the intersection. The GBI said the drivers, 35-year-old James Wilborn and 30-year-old Mahogany Price, knew each other.
Wilborn died at a hospital after being shot. Price was injured but considered stable on Tuesday. Her precise condition was unknown on Wednesday morning. No officers were injured.
The GBI said an on-duty officer in plain clothes saw Price on top of the Mercedes, driven by Wilborn.
"While patrolling the streets, he observed an incident involving two vehicles. There was an incident where there was an occupant on the outside of one of the vehicles that was thrown off the vehicle," said Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. "The plain clothes officer tried to have the driver stop."
A crime scene investigators takes pictures of a white Mercedes-Benz and surrounding roadway after police say a plain clothes officer was forced to open fire during a road rage dispute along West Peachtree Road near 16th Street in Midtown Atlanta on O … (Rob DiRienzo / FOX 5)
The GBI said the Atlanta Police Department officer walked up to the car and saw Price be "thrown" from the car.
"It just escalated to where there where a female got on top of the vehicle and the other driver drove off," said Deputy Chief Hampton.
The GBI said the officer tried to stop Wilborn, who ignored commands. Wilborn and the officer got into a physical altercation, the GBI said, and the officer fired their weapon and wounded Wilborn.
He died at Grady Hospital, officials said.
"That escalated to where the officer discharged their weapon," Deputy Chief Hampton said.
The GBI did not specify if anyone involved in the incident was armed.
"Right now, we have not found a weapon, but we also have not processed the vehicle," said Deputy Chief Hampton on Tuesday night. "That will be left up to the GBI."
West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta was blocked after a report of a shooting on Oct. 25, 2022. (FOX 5)
A Midtown resident sent videos of the scene showing the intersection, which also feeds into the MARTA Arts Center Station, blocked. It was not immediately clear if the incident was impacting MARTA service.
The GBI has been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting. This is the 96th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate this year.
This image, which has been blurred so as not to show any potential victims, appears to show a crime scene at the intersection of West Peachtree Street and 16th Street in Midtown Atlanta on Oct. 25, 2022. (Used with permission)
This story is developing. Watch Good Day Atlanta starting at 4:30 a.m. for the latest updates.