With 1 bullet, a police officer is shot in the face and a suspect is shot dead during a struggle: Officials

The injured officer is in critical condition.

December 6, 2018, 3:53 PM

With one bullet, a Georgia police officer was shot in the face and a suspect was shot dead during a confrontation Thursday morning, according to investigators.

It began when employees of a dentist's office called 911 around 8 a.m. Thursday to report a disturbance, Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Natalie Ammons told reporters.

Henry County Police officer Michael Smith arrived and spoke with the suspect, Dimaggio McNelly, but "at some point the subject became combative," Ammons said.

PHOTO: Officials on the scene outside Atlanta, where an officer was shot, Dec. 6, 2018.
Officials on the scene outside Atlanta, where an officer was shot, Dec. 6, 2018.
WSB

Smith deployed his Taser multiple times, but it wasn't effective, she said.

A struggle broke out when McNelly lunged at the officer, Ammons said, and one shot was fired.

With that one shot, both Smith and McNelly were struck, but it's not clear whose finger was on the trigger, Ammons said.

PHOTO: Police officer Michael Smith was shot while responding to a call, Dec. 6, 2018, in Georgia.
Police officer Michael Smith was shot while responding to a call, Dec. 6, 2018, in Georgia.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation

McNelly was killed, Ammons said, while Smith was shot in the face and hospitalized.

Smith, who has been with the department for seven years, is in critical condition, Ammons said.

The dentist office's staff did not know McNelly, 53, or why he was at the business, she said.