Atlanta Officer Shot While Serving Warrant; Suspect Dead

This story reflects a correction from an aggregated media report to show the officer who was shot is with the Atlanta Police Department.

STOCKBRIDGE, GA — An Atlanta police officer was injured in a shooting Tuesday while serving a warrant in Stockbridge, and the accused gunman is dead, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at a news conference.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Henry County Police said officers were assisting with the U.S. Marshals Service with executing a warrant in the Swan Lake Subdivision. Atlanta Police said the shooting happened in the 400 block of Linden Lane.

Schierbaum said a warrant was being served on Derrick Rankins, 33, a suspect in the Aug. 20 killing of Courtney Reese in a domestic violence case that took place at Springside Drive.

Police believed Rankins was "very dangerous" and posed "a threat to the community," Schierbaum said.

The warrant was being served by the Southeastern Fugitive Task Force, which is overseen by the U.S. Marshals Service and involves Atlanta Police and the Georgia State Patrol, Schierbaum said.

Rankins was accused of shooting at officers, with one officer suffering a gunshot wound to the left arm. While Rankins died during the encounter, Schierbaum said it is unknown if Rankins died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or from a shot fired by a law enforcement officer.

"Thankfully, those injuries are not life threatening," Schierbaum said of the officer's injury. "I thank God for having a hand of protection over our officers today."

The officer who was injured Tuesday is an 18-year veteran with the APD and was assigned to the department's Fugitive Unit. The officer is being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital and is expected to recover, Schierbaum said.

"I want to commend him for his bravery today," Schierbaum said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is overseeing the probe in the shooting.

The officer is the third Georgia law-enforcement officer to be shot in nearly two weeks.

RELATED: Funeral Services Set For GA Officer Fatally Shot While Serving Warrant

Investigator Taylor Jaimeson Bristow on Tuesday was serving a warrant for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Carroll County when authorities said he was shot by a man who then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Bristow later died at a local hospital, authorities said.

The shooting of Bristow comes three days after Paulding County Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute on Aug. 17. Local authorities said the deputy was ambushed and was shot within 8 seconds of getting out of his patrol car.

The accused gunman, identified by authorities as 42-year-old James Samuel Atkins, took his own life, authorities said.