Man shot by police during SWAT standoff in DeKalb; GBI will investigate

A SWAT standoff has come to an end in DeKalb County after an armed man barricaded inside a home was shot by an officer, police said.

The man is in critical condition.

A teenage resident at the home near the 2300 block of Cragstone Court off Covington Highway called 911 around 3:35 a.m. to report that a woman was being held hostage by a man, police Chief Mirtha Ramos told reporters from the scene.

Police said the man is believed to have been “experiencing a behavioral health crisis.” Ramos confirmed the man fired shots near where the woman was hiding inside the home, which caused damage to water pipes, prior to law enforcement arriving.

“The female was being held against her will, against a man in the residence who had a weapon,” Ramos said.

Officers attempted to negotiate with the man when they arrived at the scene, and Ramos said the SWAT team was eventually called when the man refused to come outside. The SWAT team negotiated with the suspect for another hour before deciding to enter the home. At that point, Ramos said an arrest and search warrant had been obtained.

Moments before law enforcement entered the home, Ramos said the female victim was able to get out but the suspect remained inside.

After officers made it inside, the suspect “raised a gun toward the officer, causing the officer to fire several shots, striking the subject,” Ramos confirmed. The man was taken to a hospital. No officers were injured.

Ramos said the incident is domestic, but she is unsure about the relationship between the man and woman. The teenage resident was not in the house when law enforcement arrived, police said.

Fred Witherspoon told Channel 2 Action News that neighbors were woken up shortly before 5 a.m. and told by police to evacuate the area.

“You just could basically see the officers when they entered in and out. They were in the unit for a long time before we heard any shot or anything,” Witherspoon said.

The GBI has been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

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