Cobb police shoot, kill man wanted on murder charge related to scooter crash, GBI says

Authorities searched for Damian Strozier, 31, for hours Tuesday after he pulled a gun and ran away during an arrest attempt, according to authorities.

GBI officers investigate late Tuesday after Cobb police searched for a man wanted on an outstanding warrant for murder. The man, identified as 31-year-old Damian Strozier, was fatally shot, according to the GBI. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)

By Vanessa McCray

Updated 13 hours ago

Cobb County police late Tuesday shot and killed a man facing a murder charge after an hourslong dragnet, the GBI said.

Earlier in the day, around 1 p.m., Damian Strozier, 31, pulled a gun after police attempted to arrest the Atlanta man on an outstanding warrant in the scooter crash death of a 67-year-old woman last month, according to authorities. A Cobb officer shot at Strozier, but he ran away, launching the lengthy search, officials said.

That search ended at 7:40 p.m., when Cobb SWAT officers found Strozier, this time in a wooded area behind an apartment complex off Leland Drive, not far from where the initial interaction took place.

“Several officers shot at Strozier, hitting him multiple times. Strozier was pronounced dead on scene,” the GBI said in a statement.

No officers were injured, police said. The GBI did not answer questions about what Strozier was doing when the deadly shooting took place.

“All information that can be shared at this time is included in our release, as this is an active investigation,” a spokesperson said via email.

A Cobb County police officer guards the scene where a massive search for Damian Strozier ended late Tuesday in the area of Leland and Windy Hill roads. (Ben Hendren for the AJC)

Cobb police initially didn’t comment on how the search ended. But in a social media post, the department said Strozier had been “located and there is no longer any perceived danger to the public.”

Throughout the day, Cobb police had warned the public Strozier should be considered “armed and dangerous.” Authorities had been looking for him because he was wanted in an Atlanta case for felony murder and aggravated assault.

Janet Davis, a pedestrian, was “struck by a person riding an electric scooter” on March 20 and died from her injuries the next day at a hospital, Atlanta police said in a statement. The suspect left the scooter wreck scene on Northside Drive less than half-mile from the Georgia Tech campus before officers arrived, police said.