Standoff At Wells Fargo In Marietta Ends In Man's Death: Police

MARIETTA, GA -- A man was killed by law enforcement Friday afternoon after being holed up in a Wells Fargo bank for most of the day in Marietta. The man initially told authorities that he had a bomb and he called WSB-TV and told a producer that he was an Iraqi war veteran who was now homeless.

The incident on Windy Hill Road near Interstate 75 caused gridlock on one of Cobb's major thoroughfares on one of its busiest days. (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.)

To keep the area clear, Cobb authorities diverted traffic from Windy Hill about a quarter mile from the bank branch. The Windy Hill Road exit was also cut off, according to authorities.

The standoff began earlier in the day shortly after the bank opened, Cobb authorities said.

"We received the call at 0932 hours from a male who stated that he was inside the Wells Fargo Bank located at 2675 Windy Hill Road in Marietta, Georgia," Cobb police spokeswoman Alicia Chilton told Patch. "The male is still inside the bank, with employees (unknown how many at this time) and has made general threats."

No one inside or outside the bank was ever at risk of being harmed, she said.

"Due to it being a very active situation and the fact that the suspect may be monitoring media/social media, we are limiting the amount of information we release at this time," Chilton said at the time.

At least two employees were inside the bank, but authorities were able to get them out, Cobb police spokesman Lt. Dana Pierce told news crews on the scene.

ATF, Marietta and Cobb police were on the scene and managing the situation. Authorities initially reported that the situation was a bomb threat, but they will no longer confirm that.

In the afternoon, authorities made the decision to use a robot to enter the bank.

“It appears a member of the tactical team when we made contact trying to extract the hostages, a member of the tactical team may have been responsible for the deceased,” Cobb police Chief Mike Register said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

As is customary for officer-involved shootings, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation.

This is a developing story. Stay with Patch for the latest.