A 25-year-old man was taken into custody early Monday after barricading himself inside a vacant Lithonia home that once operated as a daycare, triggering an overnight SWAT standoff less than a mile from Lithonia High School. Police were called to the area around 1:16 a.m. for a reported assault, and the standoff stretched for hours before officers forced the suspect outside.
The suspect, identified as Tavien Hartwell, was taken into custody after barricading himself inside the home, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. A neighbor told the station that a woman came to his door at about 1 a.m. asking for help because a man was trying to hurt her. The home, on Victoria Place near Marble Road, had been vacant for about a year after previously operating as a daycare, the neighbor said.
SWAT Moves In After Hours-Long Impasse
SWAT officers responded to the scene and evacuated nearby homes while giving Hartwell multiple opportunities to leave voluntarily, per the same account. When those efforts failed, officers entered the home and forced Hartwell outside, where he was arrested, according to police as reported by Atlanta News First. Inside the home, authorities found two guns, including one that had been reported stolen, the outlet reported.
Police said Hartwell was in custody as of 9:30 a.m., according to WSB-TV. The police perimeter around the property was taken down at about 10 a.m., FOX 5 reported.
Lockdown Rattled Nearby High School
The standoff's proximity to Lithonia High School prompted a Level 1 lockdown there, which caused delays in student arrivals, according to DeKalb County Schools as relayed by the same source. Students were directed to another entrance.
Charge details have varied across local coverage. Atlanta News First and WSB Radio both reported that Hartwell faces aggravated assault-strangulation, battery, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, among other charges. Separately, the article's report described the charges as aggravated assault, battery, possession of a firearm, and obstruction of justice. The exact list of charges Hartwell ultimately faces has not been confirmed through a primary police record.
