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Atlanta-Area Cop Critical, Dog Killed When Police Go to Wrong Home

A metro Atlanta police officer was in critical condition after he was shot while responding to a call at the wrong house, authorities said.
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A metro Atlanta police officer was in critical condition after he, a homeowner and a dog were shot when police responded to a call at the wrong house, authorities said.

The homeowner's condition wasn't reported, but the dog was killed, police said.

Cedric Alexander, public safety director in DeKalb County, told reporters that the officer was wounded in the thigh and "lost a lot of blood." The officer was in surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital, the region's main trauma center, Alexander said.

Officers responded to a call for a burglary in progress about 7:30 p.m. ET, but they went to the wrong address because the caller gave only a description of a "gray brick house" without a street number, Alexander said.

Details of what happened hadn't been determined other than that "shortly after that, within a matter of moments, gunfire took place," Alexander said. The homeowner was shot in the leg and was being transported to a hospital.

"A lot is yet to be determined here as to what [happened] 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 he had turned the case over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.