Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. during a press conference about the shooting. (Atlanta Police Department)

An off-duty Atlanta police officer shot and killed a man during a struggle at a Buckhead restaurant on Wednesday.

The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. at 2770 Lenox Road, a shopping center that includes Roasters Rotisserie restaurant. Multiple news outlets are reporting the incident occurred at Roasters.

The off-duty police officer was working an approved extra job across the street, Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said during a press conference. The officer was called to the restaurant at the shopping center, he said.

“Inside the restaurant, he encountered the suspect,” Hampton said. “There was some discussion going on. Then immediately, there was a struggle. The struggle involved the officer’s gun. The struggle went on for several minutes. At the conclusion of that struggle, the officer discharged his firearm.”

The suspect was transported to a hospital where he died, police said. The officer wasn’t injured and was taken to the Atlanta Police Department headquarters.

The GBI is now investigating the incident. Hampton said the off-duty police officer was in uniform and wearing a body camera.

On Thursday, the GBI identified the man who was shot as 30-year-old Rogers Kyaruzi of Lithonia. “Kyaruzi had been expressing odd behavior prior to the incident and had followed a patron into Roasters where Kyaruzi was causing a disturbance,” the GBI said.

Amy Wenk was editor of Reporter Newspapers in 2021-22.