Fatal Home Park Police Shooting Being Investigated By GBI

ATLANTA — Atlanta Police and Georgia State Troopers fatally shot an armed man believed to be suicidal Sunday afternoon.

Police officers who engaged the man to keep him from leaving the area of the Home Park neighborhood where he was first spotted ordered him to put down the gun he had, and ultimately believed he was going to open fire.

“He produced the weapon and actuated the slide as if he was getting ready to shoot that weapon,” Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Timothy Peek told reporters Sunday evening.

Around 2:42 p.m., State Troopers, Atlanta Police and officers with Georgia Tech Police were called to the corner of Home Park Avenue and State Street in northwest Atlanta near Georgia Tech's campus where the armed man had been reported, Peek said.

Police said an air unit was able to track the man to the area where officers could try to reach out to him, and residents in the area were told to stay in their homes.

“Units began to set up a command post so that we could begin the process of making contact with the victim so that we could see if we could really and truly de-escalate the situation,” Peek said. “Unfortunately, prior to us getting all resources in place, he began to leave the scene.”

Officers tried to stop the man from leaving the area, and police said he pulled out a weapon and was immediately ordered by several officers to put the gun away.

“He was given several verbal commands by all police units,” Peek said, noting that the man then cocked the handgun, loading a bullet into the gun’s firing chamber.

Troopers and Atlanta Police officers fired at the man and hit him,” Peek said.

The man was taken to the hospital where he later died, police said. Authorities did not identify the man.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has taken over the investigation as is the case in all police-involved shootings in the state.

The investigation continued well into Sunday evening.

This is a developing story. Please refresh this page for updates.