Officer Shoots Suspect Near Six Flags Over Georgia After Opening Day Brawl: PD

AUSTELL, GA — A Cobb County police officer returned fire and shot a suspect near Six Flags Over Georgia after a massive brawl on the park's opening day Saturday, officials said.

After officers had escorted hundreds of people out of the park in Austell, multiple people began firing at police, authorities added.

County police arrived to the park around 6:15 p.m. to assist park security with a "sizable unruly crowd" of 500-600 guests. Police said the groups were reportedly running through the park and fighting.

Police and security eventually followed the crowd out of the park onto Six Flags Parkway near South Service Road. Officers were making sure everyone was leaving when an unknown number of people began firing shots at them, said police.

One officer returned fire and hit one of the suspects, police said. First responders gave the person medical attention before transporting them to Grady Memorial Hospital. Their condition is unknown.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will take over responsibility of the investigation. Officials have not yet identified the person or the officer involved.

Police did not say if they made any arrests.

Six Flags Over Georgia released the following statement:

Our goal is to provide safe, fun entertainment. We employ state of the art security systems and metal detection, maintain a robust and vigilant Public Safety Department, and have strong support from Cobb County Police who are present both inside and outside the park. Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome.

It is incredibly disappointing that our community is disrupted at public events throughout the region by groups of underaged youth. Just like other venues in the area, we are committed to keeping this type of trouble outside our park and off our property. There was police activity involving gunshots; we want to confirm there was no shooting at our property or parking lot. This took place on South Service Road that is not owned or operated by Six Flags. However, we join our community and the Atlanta region in our commitment to safety and security. We won’t put up with that type of activity here.