Georgia Investigators Say Henry County Officer Fatally Shot Armed 16-Year-Old After Chase Near Stockbridge Krispy Kreme

STOCKBRIDGE, GA — A Henry County police officer shot and killed a 16-year-old boy Tuesday evening after a chase that began in a Krispy Kreme parking lot near Stockbridge, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Investigators say the officer encountered two teens in the lot and moved toward them. The sequence escalated quickly after the officer asked the older teen to remove his hands from his pockets, and the GBI says a handgun was handed to the 16-year-old before he ran.

The officer pursued him on foot and fired after repeated commands for the boy to drop the gun, the agency said. The teen was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.

How investigators say the encounter began in the parking lot

The GBI says the officer first saw a 17-year-old and a 16-year-old in the parking lot of the business on the 100 block of Highway 138. The officer then approached the pair and asked the older teen to take his hands out of his pockets.

Officials say the 17-year-old passed a handgun to the younger teen, who immediately took off running. That detail is central to the investigation, because it describes the moment the situation shifted from a routine contact to a foot chase.

The agency has not said what prompted the officer to make contact with the teens in the first place. It also has not said whether the handgun was fired before the officer discharged his own weapon.

The chase ended with the teen shot and killed at the scene

According to the GBI, the officer followed the 16-year-old on foot and repeatedly ordered him to drop the gun. The teen did not comply, the agency said, and the officer fired, hitting him.

The boy was pronounced dead where the shooting happened. Authorities have not released his identity.

The GBI did not provide additional details about the length of the chase, the distance covered, or whether other officers were nearby when the shooting occurred. Those questions remain part of the active investigation as agents continue to gather witness statements and other evidence.

What the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is reviewing now

The shooting is being investigated by the GBI, which routinely examines officer-involved shootings across the state. In this case, agents are treating the incident as an open and active file while they work to reconstruct the steps that led to the fatal encounter.

Officials are asking anyone with information to contact the GBI Atlanta Regional Investigative Office in Conyers at 770-388-5019 or the GBI Tipline at 800-597-8477. The agency has not said how many witnesses it has identified so far.

Investigators will review the officer’s account, any available video, physical evidence and statements from people who may have seen the confrontation in the shopping area.

Possible next steps for the case after the investigation closes

Once the GBI finishes its work, the case file will be turned over to the Henry County District Attorney’s Office. That office will decide whether any charges should be filed.

For now, officials have not announced any criminal charges or disciplinary actions. The officer involved has not been publicly identified in the information released so far.

The case adds to a series of officer-involved shootings in Georgia that are typically reviewed first by state investigators before prosecutors determine whether the use of force was lawful under state standards.

What is known and what remains unanswered about the shooting

At this stage, investigators have confirmed the location, the teens’ ages and the fact that the 16-year-old died after being shot by a Henry County officer. They have also described the sequence that began with a parking-lot encounter and ended with a foot pursuit near a Krispy Kreme.

Still unclear are the identities of the teens, the reason for the officer’s initial contact, and whether the teens were tied to any other suspected activity before the shooting. The GBI has not said whether the officer was injured or whether the handgun has been recovered.

As the investigation continues, authorities say the goal is to establish exactly what happened before the case is sent to prosecutors for review.