Christian Eppinger is a 22-year-old gang member who is accused of shooting an Atlanta police officer six times. While initially he was denied bond, a new ruling on Tuesday threatened to reverse this decision.

The police officer, Officer David Rodgers, was allegedly shot by Eppinger while pursuing him over an arrest warrant in Atlanta, Georgia. Eppinger was wanted for an aggravated assault and robbery that occurred in October 2021.

Despite being shot six times, Rodgers survived the shooting.

“He will have a long road of recovery before him,” Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum said in regards to the injuries sustained by Rodgers. “…What happened today is the challenge that we are against here in Atlanta and in cities across this country, where individuals are heavily armed … and are released into our communities. It causes harm to police officers, who are being assaulted at record levels across the country and placed in communities with imminent harm.”

Fox News reports, “the suspect was denied bond immediately after the shooting, but a new ruling on Tuesday reversed that decision. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis hosted a press conference Wednesday with Police Chief Rodney Bryant to address the bond agreement. Willis stated that despite the judge’s decision, Eppinger wouldn’t be released from jail.”

“It is the position of the state that that individual should not have been given bond, based on his history – based on where he was in the process here at Fulton County,” DA Willis said during a press conference on Wednesday. “And so, it is something that has upset my law enforcement partners, and me as the district attorney.”