A police standoff in DeKalb County which began Monday evening at around 6:30 p.m., concluded without violence after a 28-year-old man, experiencing what officials described as a mental health crisis, surrendered to authorities. The standoff, unfolding in a residential area near Stone Mountain engulfed with law enforcement including SWAT, a bomb squad, and several agencies, led to an advisory for residents to remain indoors, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Witnesses in the vicinity had reported hearing multiple gunshots which prompted the significant police response, SWAT team members were seen preparing to breach the residence right before the suspect, identified as Zachary Benjamin, calmly chose to exit the house and submit to custody, law enforcement did not discharge their weapons during the incident and no injuries were reported despite the heavy police mobilization and the initial sounds of gunfire, Atlanta News First covered the event live as it unfolded.
Nearby resident Niecey Frazier noted the exceptional scale of the law enforcement's presence saying, "That’s why I know it’s something serious going on," and added, "All of this, this is like way too much. I’ve never seen this. It’s flooded out," in an interview with Atlanta News First. Officers at the scene discovered six firearms and several thousand rounds of ammunition in the house post-arrest, and no civilians or officers were injured during the ordeal.
According to the DeKalb County police, Benjamin is charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and during the standoff, which spanned nearly five hours, a Mobile Crisis Unit officer noticed a defect in his duty belt, but was otherwise unharmed, FOX 5 Atlanta reports. After the peaceful resolution, the restrictions on local residents and motorists have been lifted.
