Police: Suspect in SWAT standoff shot by officers

SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. - After a several-hour standoff with a suicidal gunman who police said fired at officers, the SWAT team used explosive devices to startle the gunman and shot him, taking him into custody.

The standoff along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs shut down the busy roadway in the height of rush hour traffic.

Video captured by Veden Media shows how witnesses in a building across the street watched the standoff and dramatic end unfold. The person who recorded the video tells FOX 5, after several hours of waiting, officers moved quickly and threw a flash grenade, then fired shots. 

"He was sitting there. He had his gun to his head," said witness Marshall Boyd, who was kept inside a nearby office building with dozens of people for several hours, as people were not allowed to leave and told to stay away from the windows.

The ordeal started shortly after 2 p.m. when Sandy Springs Police were called by a security guard at an apartment complex reporting three possible burglary suspects. Police said they wrangled two of them into custody, but the third fled, firing a shot at officers in the process.

Police said they were able to corner the suspect in an alleyway between two businesses in the 6000 block of Roswell Road, but when the gunman threatened to harm himself, police backed off.

A SWAT team and negotiators were brought in to assist in the situation. Police closed down Roswell Road in between Hammond and Hildebrand in both directions and drivers were advised to avoid the area.

Just before 5 p.m., police said they acted quickly to end the standoff.

We did negotiate with him nonstop... we did use a diversionary distraction device to try to disarm him. However they did end up shooting the suspect," said Sgt. Samuel Worsham. 

The suspect was deemed to have non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to an area hospital. The suspect is expected to recover.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate the officer-involved shooting.

The names of those taken into custody were not immediately released.

 The road reopened shortly after 6 p.m.