A 15-year-old was shot and critically wounded by police at Six Flags over Georgia Saturday night as the park marked opening day for its 2024 season.
Cobb County Police said they were called to the scene by park security shortly after 6 p.m. as a crowd of 500-600 people were “running through the park and fighting,” WXIA reported.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said that “multiple” patrons began shooting as officers were assisting with crowd control near the park’s entrance, with one bullet hitting an unoccupied patrol car. Officers determined where the shots were coming from and gave chase, heading into a wooded area where they ran.
“During the incident, one CCPD officer fired his weapon, hitting one minor,” GBI said. “The minor was taken to Grady Hospital for his injuries and is listed in critical condition.”
Six Flags Over Georgia is NOT safe rn. We went to get one ride in Goliath at the end of the night to be told “we have to leave the park. It’s not safe.” By security. Then when we come out not only do we see all these police, we hear gun shots that caused mass panic. Do not go rn. pic.twitter.com/zk6hgkts7s
— Coasters and Brews (@coastersnbrews) March 3, 2024
Police said they recovered a handgun near the minor.
Six Flags said in a statement that the gunfire happened on a service road and not on park property, WXIA said.
“It is incredibly disappointing that our community is disrupted at public events throughout the region by groups of underaged youth,” the Six Flags statement said. “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.”
TMZ reported that a person was killed in the shooting, but police and local media outlets have not reported that information. TMZ did not provide a source.
Six Flags Over Georgia is located about 18 miles west of Atlanta in suburban Cobb County.
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[Featured image: Georgia Bureau of Investigation]
