Police say shoplifting suspect shot by officer in Chamblee had a machete

CHAMBLEE, Ga. - A Chamblee police officer opened fire on a man accused of carrying a machete following a shoplifting call.

"We have a female officer who was attacked. The offender is a male," said Chamblee Police Chief Michael Dieppa.

It started around 2:40 p.m. Thursday at the Walmart located on the corner of Chamblee Tucker Road and Peachtree Boulevard.

The man fled the store with the officer walking after him, according to Chamblee Police Chief Michael Dieppa.

"The officer tried to, attempted to make contact with the individual who refused all of our commands to stop," the chief said.

At the train overpass, the man pulled out a machete.

"The offender pulled out a machete from his waistband, viciously attempted to attack our officer, forcing her to discharge her firearm to protect herself," the chief said.

A still photo taken from the police officer's body camera. (City of Chamblee)

The man was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

The chief said the officer fired in self-defense.

The officer was not injured. She was placed on administrative leave, as is policy in these types of incidents.

The names of those involved have not been released.

Witness to Chamblee police shooting claims there was no weapon

One woman who spoke to FOX 5 says she was witness to the confrontation between a Chamblee police officer and the man. 

"We were like a couple of feet away when she started shooting," said the woman, who did not want her name used in this story. "We were so close that I had to duck in my car."

Her account of what happened differs from the official police account.

"We didn’t see any weapons," she said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will be handling the investigation to determine exactly what happened.