Police: Shooter Alexia Christian in downtown gunfight with officers dead

ATLANTA - Police have identified the woman and the officers who exchanged gunfire through a patrol car in downtown Atlanta on Thursday.

Atlanta police said it all started around 4:30 p.m. Thursday when they were called out to the 100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to check out a possible stolen vehicle. Fulton County police asked for help searching that area for a white Ford F150 pickup truck that was reported stolen.

Atlanta Police Chief George Tuer said during a press conference Friday that officers found the vehicle and a woman matching the description given to them by Fulton County. Tuer said officers handcuffed 25-year-old Alexia Christian and placed her in the back of a patrol car.

Tuer said that a few minutes later, Christian opened fire at the officers from the backseat of the patrol car with a handgun. The chief said 53-year-old Jeffery Cook and 33-year-old Omar Thyme were both in the front of the cruiser when she opened fire. Neither of the officers were injured.

Cook and Thyme jumped out of the patrol car and shot back at Christian. A total of ten rounds were fire between the two offices, according to Chief Tuer. Police say at least one of the bullets struck Christian.

Christian was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital where police say she later died.

Jeffery Cook (Courtesy: Atlanta Police)

Omar Thyme (Courtesy: Atlanta Police)

Chief Tuer said that the incident is still under investigation. He said he could not immediately answer how Christian got loose from the handcuffs, but said that there has been at least one other arrest where it was documented that she did.

It also remains unclear if the officers checked Christian for weapons prior to her being placed in the car, but Chief Tuer said it would be part of the on-going investigation.

Tuer said the officers will be formally interviewed sometime next week and an inteal as well as criminal investigation is under way.

The chief said that Jeffery Cook has been with the department for 18 years while Omar Thyme has given 10 months of service. Both were placed on routine administrative leave.

Jail records indicate Christian has a lengthy arrest record, but the Georgia Department of Corrections states that she has not served any prison time. Records indicate Christian has been arrested for drug possession, shoplifting, aggravated assault and auto theft among other charges.