A suburban Atlanta police officer was fatally shot in the line of duty during an apparent ambush near downtown Atlanta early Wednesday morning.

Officials say the Fulton County police officer, Detective Terence Green, 48, was shot in the head and killed by a suspect in Fairburn, Georgia. His colleague was also shot in the hip, but he survived since the bullet hit his radio.

"It was actually his radio -- the bullet went through -- the radio saved him. It penetrated the radio," said Fulton Police Chief Cassandra Jones, reports CNN. As a result, the cop did not suffer from any injuries.

Det. Green arrived with other officers on the scene before 1 a.m. Wednesday after multiple people called 911 to report gun shots at a house in Fairburn. Cops were told the suspect was possibly intoxicated. Neighbors also said the man banged on the doors of several houses and fired a long barrel gun.

However, by the time officers arrived at the home, the suspect, Amanuel Menghesha, 42, had fled and was reportedly roaming the streets. Shortly thereafter, Menghesha fired at the officers without warning with an assault style rifle.

According to Fulton County Assistant Police Chief Gary Stiles, Menghesha began shooting at the officers around 1:30 a.m. and shot Green in the head.

"[He] appeared to have gone on a rampage," Chief Stiles said.

Menghesha, who was known to police, was then shot by other officers.

Stiles said, "[The officers] were trying to do their job, they were trying to protect this neighborhood from someone who was shooting. And they had no other option but to do their job. And the way it appears to me, they were ambushed without warning."

Green died from his injuries at a local hospital, but the suspect survived and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries. Charges are pending

Green, a 22-year police veteran, leaves behind his parents, brother and four sons, reports WSBTV.

"This is a call that I pray every night, every day, 10 times a day that I never get. And when you get it, you're not ready for it, but you have to lead and you have to go on because you have to stand there and be that strength for your officers, but it's one that you just can't even imagine," Jones said in a news conference. "It's like losing a child because they're all my children."

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