A family dispute at a Marietta home turned violent on Friday morning when a 40-year-old man was stabbed in the shoulder, allegedly by his own younger brother, touching off an hours-long standoff that drew a heavy police presence to the quiet North Saint Marys Lane neighborhood.
Police responded to the home just before 9:30 a.m. after reports of a dispute between family members that involved physical violence, according to Atlanta News First. The 40-year-old victim told officers his younger brother had stabbed him, and he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the station reported. The Marietta Daily Journal reported that the injured man left the home and called police himself, and that he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Suspect Held Out for Hours Before Giving Up
The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Jeffrey White, per the same Atlanta News First account. According to the Marietta Daily Journal, the suspect remained inside the home afterward and did not respond to police commands issued over a loudspeaker, as police presence in the area grew. White remained uncooperative for hours before negotiators eventually persuaded him to come outside and surrender, the station's report notes.
The Marietta Daily Journal reported that officer Chuck McPhilamy, a spokesman for the Marietta Police Department, said the two brothers had gotten into a dispute at the North Saint Marys Lane home, which sits about one mile from Kennestone Hospital. The outlet also reported that police did not believe there was ongoing danger to the public during the standoff.
Conflicting Reports on Charges
Accounts of the charges against White differ between outlets. Atlanta News First reported that he was charged with aggravated assault and aggravated assault with a weapon. FOX 5 Atlanta, however, reported that White was arrested on felony warrants charging him with aggravated assault with a weapon and aggravated battery.
FOX 5 Atlanta also reported that police had not publicly released the name of the 40-year-old victim, and that investigators had not disclosed what specific dispute led up to the stabbing. The Marietta Daily Journal's initial report, byline credited to Megan Jackson, a corps member with Report for America — a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms — similarly described the weapon only as an unknown object used to stab the brother in the arm.
