The man who shot a Forsyth County deputy Sunday afternoon and barricaded himself in a north Forsyth home has killed himself, authorities said.
SWAT teams from multiple counties found the man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound when they entered the residence on Akin Way off Parks Road north of Browns Bridge Road (Hwy. 369) at 7:40 p.m. on July 16, almost six hours after he shot at deputies who were responding to a domestic-related 911 call.
The deputy, who has been with the sheriff's for seven years, was taken to an area hospital by one of the other three deputies who responded with to the initial 911 call. He is being treated for non-life threatening gunshot wounds to his legs, said Deputy Doug Rainwater, a spokesman for the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office.
Rainwater said they were outside in front of the house talking to the adult female who made the 911 call when the man opened "significant gunfire" on them. No one else was inside the house.
It appeared to deputies on scene that he used a rifle, Rainwater said.
“It happened so fast,” he said.
The sheriff’s office’s SWAT team and Crisis Negotiation Team responded with a Cherokee County Sheriff's Office SWAT team, North Fulton SWAT team, Georgia State Patrol officers and aviation and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
Alex Spearman, a neighbor who said he lives five or six houses down, said he watched "various deputies and vehicles go up and down the street all day."
"I went to the store, and when I came back the officers told me I could not drive back to my house, as I was too close," he said.
He was allowed to leave his car and walk home.
"Currently I am not able to find parking due to the enormous amount of officers, news personnel and pedestrians at the mouth of the subdivision," he said.
He said he does not know who lives at the house involved in the incident.
It was not immediately clear at what point during the standoff the man took his life, Rainwater said.
Deputies administered tear gas into the home with no response before sending in a robot with a camera, where they located the man deceased.
"At this point forward," Rainwater said, "it's pretty much all GBI from here."