Officer, Homeowner, Dog Shot When Police Respond To Wrong House

"We did respond to the wrong residence tonight."

A police officer and homeowner in Georgia were injured by gunfire Monday evening when authorities went to the wrong house in response to a suspicious person call.

The Dekalb County officer was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta for emergency surgery. He was in critical condition following the incident.

The homeowner was also shot in the leg and his dog was killed.

DeKalb County Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander said officers responded around 7:30 p.m. to a suspicious person report on the 1500 block of Boulderwoods Drive. The 911 caller described a house to the dispatcher, but did not give a specific location for the suspect, WSB-TV reports.

Three police officers responded to a home matching the description provided by the 911 caller. The officers had just entered the home when the gunfire erupted.

“The residence that these officers responded to is the wrong residence that was in question,” Alexander said, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

It was unclear how the situation escalated to gunfire and whether the homeowner had a gun.

“A lot is yet to be determined here as to what and when shots were fired, how the officer received injuries, how the homeowner received injuries,” Alexander said. “But we did respond to the wrong residence tonight.”

Alexander said his department would typically handle the investigation since it did not involve a fatality, but because of the unusual situation, he asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into it.

Police were still investigating whether there was a burglary at the home where the suspicious person was spotted.

All three officers have been placed on administrative leave.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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