Off-Duty Campus Police Officer Shot in Atlanta Robbery Attempt

Police are searching for two people after an off-duty Georgia State University police officer was shot Sunday night during an attempted armed robbery in southwest Atlanta. 

Officer LaToya Denise Crook, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, was walking with her friend in the 1400 block of Donnelly Avenue when two men came up to them and tried to rob them about 9:30 p.m., authorities said.

 “At some point, one of the males told them to give it up,” Atlanta police Sgt. John Chafee told Channel 2 Action News. “A struggle ensued between one of the females and one of the males and the male on the bicycle produced a firearm and fired at least one time at the female.”

The off-duty officer returned fire, but the men ran away. It is unclear if they were hit, AJC.com reports.

The officer was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds to the hand and torso, but is expected to be OK.