Video: Chaos erupts as 'unruly crowd' of 600 overwhelms Six Flags Over Georgia, teen in critical condition in police shooting

Pandemonium erupted as an "unruly crowd" of as many as 600 people overwhelmed the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park on Saturday night. Gunfire broke out as law enforcement attempted to quell the chaotic situation, and police reportedly shot a teen during the violent exchange.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials told WSB-TV that the Cobb County Police Department was contacted around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday regarding an "unruly crowd" of 500 to 600 people at the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park.

According to police, several fights erupted near the entrance of the park in Austell – roughly 17 miles northwest of Atlanta, Georgia. The park's security was overpowered by the mob.

A gunfight broke out on a service road that is not on the amusement park property, according to Six Flags Over Georgia officials.

Police returned fire, and a 15-year-old was shot during the exchange.

"At some point, multiple people began shooting, hitting an unoccupied CCPD marked patrol car," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. "As officers identified where the shots were coming from, they ran after people who had run into the woods. During the incident, one CCPD officer fired his weapon, hitting one minor."

The 15-year-old was rushed to Grady Hospital. He is reportedly in critical condition as of Sunday. His name has not been released.

A handgun was found near the wounded teen, according to the GBI.

No officers were injured in the gun battle.

The GBI is conducting an independent investigation into the police shooting and will submit its findings to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.

Six Flags Over Georgia said in a statement about the violent incident, "Our goal is to provide safe, fun entertainment. We employ state of the art security systems and metal detection, maintain a robust and vigilant Public Safety Department, and have strong support from Cobb County Police who are present both inside and outside the park."

"Every guest is expected to follow our strict code of conduct and anyone unwilling to follow that code of conduct is unwelcome," the statement from the amusement park read.

Park officials blamed the disruption on "groups of underaged youth."

"Just like other venues in the area, we are committed to keeping this type of trouble outside our park and off our property," the statement said.

Gerald Rose – local social activist and president of the New Order National Human Rights Organization – told WAGA-TV, "Summer hasn’t even broke yet, and on the first day of the amusement park, someone at 15 gets shot? We have all this gun violence going on and I'm just very concerned with where we're headed. It's just the fact that the suspects doing these crimes are younger and younger."

Rose noted that teenagers are supposed to be at home playing video games, not committing adult crimes.

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