Crime & Safety
Marietta Bank Reopens Days After Fatal Standoff
Marietta bank on Windy Hill Road where standoff occurred last week reopens to the public.
MARIETTA, GA -- A Marietta bank which was the scene last week of a standoff that paralyzed traffic in the area for hours and resulted in the death of a Marine has reopened, Patch has learned.
The Wells Fargo at 2675 Windy Hill Road near Interstate 75 in Marietta is back to normal after the harrowing incident, which began Friday when a man entered the building and said he had a bomb. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Marietta Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)
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Brian Easley, 33, held authorities at bay for several hours inside the Wells Fargo, freeing employees along the way and calling WSB-TV to state his plight. Easley was a Marine who served in Kuwait and Iraq, local media reports. Although the details are still sketchy, Easley was killed Friday afternoon after authorities breached the bank's front door with a robot.
Easley's relatives told local media that the incident is not in line with the person they knew and loved.
Find out what's happening in Mariettafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"This is not the Brian I know," Jazzima Damons told WAGA-TV. "He would not hurt nobody, nobody."
"Our family is just in shock right now because the Brian they are saying that went up in this bank, that is not him, he is a very loving person," Sierra Damons was quoted as saying.
"He would not hurt nobody" Relatives of veteran who held hostages @ bank say Brian Easley was a good person & loving father 11p @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/lNZrtLwKwQ
— Nathalie Pozo (@NathalieFOX5) July 8, 2017
Authorities have not released a motive for the standoff, but Easley claimed that he was homeless and that the Department of Veterans Affairs owed him money. The TV station said that he had to be escorted out of the VA Medical Center in DeKalb County earlier this week.
Read more: Marietta bank standoff ends in man's death
Image via Google Street View
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