Gunman Dead in Georgia Hostage Situation

A gunman who held four Georgia firefighters hostage is killed after an exchange of gunfire with authorities who moved in to free the captives.

Published

11 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

United States, Gun Violence

People

Edwin Ritter

Places

United States of America, Georgia, Atlanta

Transcript

A gunman has been killed in a shootout with police after taking several firefighters hostage in Georgia. The man, who has not yet been named, held four firefighters captive when they responded to a medical call in suburban Atlanta. Police moved in fearing their lives were in danger. SOUNDBITE: (English) GWINNETT COUNTY POLICE CORPORAL, EDWIN RITTER, SAYING: "They made entry into the home, that's what you heard when you heard the explosions, gunfire exchanged between the suspect and our SWAT team. The suspect is deceased at this time. One of our officers was injured with the gunshot wound and he was transported to the hospital. It appears it's going to be non-life threatening, as well as the firefighters. There were four firefighters who were injured, but they were all superficial wounds, and they're all going to be okay, and they'll be going home tonight." It's not yet clear if the suspect was killed by officers or a self-inflicted wound. Police say he was in financial trouble and had demanded his utilities and mobile phone service be restored.