An investigator working for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office shot herself on Friday while at the Fulton County Courthouse. The investigator, who works in the office of District Attorney Fani Willis, was not critically injured in the accidental discharge.
News first broke on Friday morning that a shooting incident occurred at the Fulton County Courthouse, with the sheriff’s office reporting there was “no active threat” at the time. Within an hour, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed “an accidental discharge” by an “investigator who wounded herself” but was not critically injured.
While law enforcement did not provide information about the injury in its posts on X, formerly Twitter, 95.5 WSB reported the investigator shot herself in the leg, and was “alert, conscious, and breathing” after the accident.
The shooting was an accidental discharge by a Fulton County District Attorney’s Office investigator who wounded herself. She was not critically wounded. https://t.co/i7pBIaEEdH
— Fulton County Sheriff's Office (@FultonSheriff) September 22, 2023
The courthouse was not evacuated due to the accidental discharge, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported that a deputy provided emergency medical support until paramedics arrived. A name has not been released for the investigator.
Police also confirmed to the press that the accidental discharge occurred inside the courthouse, and Atlanta First News reported that the unexpected gunfire caused a panic. The circumstances surrounding the accidental discharge have not been released to the public.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return an inquiry from The Georgia Star News to determine the current condition of the investigator, whether the firearm that was accidentally discharged is a service weapon, or the circumstances that led to the shooting.
Willis and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office became subject to intense criticism from Georgia Republicans after its criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 of his current or former associates in a sweeping racketeering case tied to the 2020 election.
State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) cited the backlog of criminal cases in Fulton County, which exceeds 40,000, and claimed Willis’s inaction caused the jail to become a “concentration camp” plagued with violence. Former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who is a resident of Fulton County, said the criminal justice system is “frozen” because Willis is “obsessed” with the former president.
To address part of the backlog, Willis recently announced Fulton County received a $2.5 million federal grant that will enable officers to work with her office and process 4,300 rape kits. Some of the rape kits are reportedly dated to the 1980s, and Willis acknowledged the severe delay in law enforcement action meant victims “had the very worst day of their life” but “didn’t get justice” in Fulton County.
Ten inmates have died in the Fulton County Jail so far in 2023, all while waiting for their day in court. The family of a man who died at the jail last year announced its intention to sue the jail on Wednesday.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Fulton County Courthouse” by Carsonmc. CC BY 3.0.
