A man accused of holding a woman and a child at gunpoint was shot by DeKalb County police on Tuesday morning in unincorporated Stone Mountain. The woman and child were safely removed from the scene and were not hurt, while the suspect was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
According to Atlanta News First, officers were called to a domestic situation on Central Drive near North Hairston Road at around 8 a.m. Police said the man refused to drop his weapon, and an officer opened fire on him during the encounter. Nobody else was hurt in the confrontation, and the woman and child were able to get away from the scene without injury.
Suspect Remains Unidentified as GBI Steps In
Police have not identified the suspect, and the department's account does not say what led to the domestic dispute or what charges he could eventually face. The same gaps extend to the woman and child involved — DeKalb County police have not released their names or ages, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
The station reports it remains unclear what triggered the confrontation or what specific charges the suspect will face. As is standard practice whenever an officer fires a weapon, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to examine what happened, per the same report.
Pattern of GBI Reviews Following DeKalb Shootings
Georgia state investigators routinely step in after local police shootings, a protocol that has played out in DeKalb County before. Earlier this year, the GBI's findings led to a DeKalb officer being fired and charged with involuntary manslaughter after fatally shooting 19-year-old Seth Jayden Eccles during a search tied to an armed robbery investigation, according to CBS Atlanta.
For now, the Stone Mountain case is in the GBI's hands, with no word yet on the suspect's condition beyond the initial report that he was critical, or on whether he will face charges once he recovers.
