[4] Paez Terán decided to join the Atlanta forest protests after learning about the Cop City project through a podcast.

[11][9][12] A GBI report published October 2023 claims that after the shooting ceased, a loud "boom" sounded with white smoke coming out of Terán's tent.

[10] Officers say that a trooper, Jerry Parrish, suffered serious injuries and was struck multiple times – including below his armor plate and above his belt on his right side.

[15][14] Police accounts of the incident claim that troopers encountered a tent and gave verbal orders for the person inside to exit.

[6] District Attorney Sherry Boston requested an independent prosecuting agency to take over the investigation to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

[18] George Christian, the district attorney for northeast Georgia's Mountain Judicial Circuit, became the case's special prosecutor in April 2023.

[19] According to the GBI, forensic ballistic analysis determined that the projectile recovered from the officer's leg wound matched the handgun found in Paez Terán's possession.

The recovered handgun, a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm semi-automatic pistol with serial number JFE8099, was determined to have been purchased legally by Paez Terán in September 2020.

[22] Police claim that Paez Terán refused to leave the tent, and subsequently shot and wounded an officer with that gun.

[28][29] Results from an independent autopsy determined that Paez Téran had been shot 14 times "by different firearms" with their hands raised while sitting cross-legged on the ground,[30][31] indicated by, but not limited to, the downward trajectory of fire of bullets from above and the pattern of injuries on the legs.

[32] On April 19, 2023, the DeKalb County Medical Examiner released an autopsy and ruled Paez Terán's manner of death to be homicide.

The findings of the county autopsy also suggest that the police who opened fire on Paez Terán were likely to have been more than several feet away when officers' weapons were discharged.

[38] In December 2024, the family of Paez Terán filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against three police officers involved in the killing.

The family disputes the official account that Terán fired gunshots first, and allege excessive force and unlawful targeting of protesters.

[40] Some demonstrators spray painted graffiti on Bank of America buildings to protest the company's involvement in financing the facility's construction.

At the intersection with Ellis Street, some demonstrators threw objects, set at least two Atlanta Police Department vehicles on fire,[18] and smashed windows of bank buildings with hammers.

[46] In the aftermath of the fatal shooting, the Georgia General Assembly considered legislation to require state patrol officers to wear body cameras.

[53][54] Demonstrations and vigils were held in several cities in the United States and internationally in reaction to the killing, including a riot in Atlanta on January 21, 2023.