A 15-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being shot by a Cobb County officer near Six Flags Over Georgia on Saturday night, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
The incident happened around 6:15 p.m. on a service road just off the theme park’s property in Austell, about 17 miles northwest of Atlanta, Cobb County police said in a statement.
Police said they were called to the park by Six Flags Over Georgia security to help break up a large crowd of 500 to 600 people who were ‘running and fighting’ inside the park, which was celebrating its opening day of the season.
As police arrived, they encountered a huge crowd leaving the park, and some of them opened fire on the officers. The officers returned fire, and one of them shot the 15-year-old boy, who was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Their statement to Newsweek reads:
“Cobb County Police and Security were able to follow the crowd out of the park onto Six Flags Parkway near South Service Road. As officers followed the crowd out, ensuring they left the property, an unknown number of suspects fired at officers. An officer returned fire, striking one of the suspects,”
The boy who was gunned down had a firearm next to him where he lay. The GBI is investigating the shooting but no arrests have been made yet.
This whole affair has fueled major concerns about youth gun violence in the area, as some community leaders and park officials condemned the incident. In a statement released by Six Flags they said,
“This 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.”
The park officials also said it has “state-of-the-art security systems and metal detection” and a “strict code of conduct” for guests. With that, they declared that they “won’t put up with that type of activity here.”
