Suicidal Man Fires at Neighborhood; SWAT Team Ends Standoff

Residents in a DeKalb County neighborhood, as well as police officers, came under fire Sunday night from a suicidal man with a high-powered rifle.

The police standoff ended five hours later when the suspect died from gunshot wounds after a SWAT team stormed the house.

On Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the deceased suspect is 20-year-old Austin Leake.

WSB TV reports DeKalb County Police were called to a home on Landgraf Cove and Waldrop Cove Sunday night, where Leake threatened to shoot officers. When police arrived the gunman opened fire on officers, who took cover and called in the SWAT team.

As members of the SWAT team approached the house, police said the gunman opened fire again and several rounds hit the SWAT vehicle. At that point, police evacuated the neighborhood.

Authorities say the suspect continued to shoot at police, the SWAT team returned fire, rushed inside the house and found the shooter dead early Monday. Police say Leake died from injuries suffered by police gunfire.

DeKalb police Capt. S.R. Fore, told AJC.com that “The suspect stated out loud that he was going to kill all the police who were outside the house. The suspect was shooting at police officers, vehicles and houses from the upstairs bedroom window.”

The SWAT team tried to talk Leaking into surrendering, the newspaper reports, but he would not, and continued to shoot at officers with a high-powered rifle.