ATLANTA – The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating a shooting involving an officer and a 29-year-old GA man at a Family Dollar.

Release:

At the request of the Atlanta Police Department, GBI Agents are investigating an officer involved shooting in Atlanta, GA. One man was injured in the incident. No officers were injured.

Preliminary information indicates that, at about 6:30 p.m. on October 27, 2025, an Atlanta Police Department officer responded to a 911 call at a Family Dollar store on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway in Atlanta, GA. The call was in reference to a man on the property who had been making threats toward customers. When the officer arrived, they spotted a man resembling the description provided in the 911 call. The officer approached the man, later identified as Otis Ponder, age 29, of Atlanta, GA. Ponder began backing away from the officer and then ran away. The officer chased Ponder until he entered a storage shed behind a vacant home. The officer attempted to detain Ponder inside the shed, giving numerous verbal commands that Ponder ignored. Ponder advanced on the officer and pushed the officer over. During the incident, the officer shot at Ponder, hitting him. Ponder continued to run away from the officer and entered a nearby business, where EMS was called and aid was rendered to Ponder. Ponder was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, where he remains in stable condition.

Once the investigation is complete, the case will be provided to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review.