A standoff at a Villa Rica home ended Wednesday evening with two SWAT deputies shooting and killing 53-year-old Bradley Cox, who authorities say was carrying a sword when he confronted them in a hallway. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now probing the officer-involved shooting at the request of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
According to the GBI, deputies were called around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to the 3000 block of Connors Road in Villa Rica after reports of a shooting, where they found a man with a gunshot wound. Officials say Cox ran into his home when deputies approached him, prompting the SWAT response. Law enforcement has not yet said what caused the initial shooting, and no details have been released about the other injured man found at the scene.
Negotiations Break Down Before Entry
Deputies requested SWAT assistance and attempted to negotiate with Cox, but he refused to come out of the home, per the same account. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that deputies deployed OC gas, while the GBI said they used tear gas, CBS News Atlanta reported.
When Cox still would not exit, the SWAT team entered the home and encountered him in a hallway holding a sword, the station's report states. Two deputies then shot Cox multiple times, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that no deputies were injured during the incident.
Autopsy Ordered, Investigation Continues
Cox's body will be taken to the GBI Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy, the GBI said. The investigation into his killing remains ongoing, according to CBS News Atlanta. The GBI has asked anyone with information to call its Atlanta Regional Investigative Office in Conyers at 770-388-5019, or to reach its tip line at 800-597-8477.
CBS News Atlanta reported that this was the 70th shooting involving law enforcement that the GBI has been asked to investigate this year, and that 39 of those law-enforcement shootings have been deadly. It's a tally that underscores how often the agency is called in to review use-of-force cases across Georgia.
Not the First Villa Rica Standoff This Year
Wednesday's standoff was not the only barricade situation in Villa Rica this year. In July, police said 60-year-old Christopher Hackney barricaded himself inside his home after a neighbor reported he had threatened him with a knife, according to Atlanta News First. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office SWAT team responded to that incident along with Carroll County sheriff's deputies and Carrollton police officers, and Hackney was taken into custody without further incident just before 1:20 p.m. That case ended peacefully — a contrast to Wednesday's outcome, which remains under GBI review.
