Police: Man dead in officer-involved shooting in Peachtree City
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - A suspect is dead following an officer-involved shooting in Peachtree City, according to the Peachtree City Police Department.
It started as a domestic violence call involving a father and his adult son in Peachtree City Wednesday afternoon. It ended with an officer involved shooting and the father dead.
Peachtree City police responded to the home on the 100 block of Gelding Garth around 3:30 in the afternoon after getting a report of a domestic disturbance.
"Sgt. James Harris and Officer Darrell Davis arrived on the scene and found Mr. William Dean armed with a shotgun in the driveway," said Peachtree City Police Chief Janet Moon during a news conference at the Peachtree City Police Department.
In her prepared statement, Chief Moon did not refer to any kind of communication between the two responding officers and the armed 67 year-old-William Dean. She said Dean fired his shotgun toward the officers.
“Upon Mr. Dean firing his shotgun in the direction of the officers, Sgt. James Harris fired his patrol rifle, striking Mr. Dean resulting in Mr. Dean's death,” said Chief Moon.
The chief also said the adult son involved was “alive,” apparently uninjured.
On Facebook earlier, the department said their officers were not hurt.
“We all live in the neighborhood, Peachtree City is really small so any time anything happens here it effects all of us. It's just tragic,” said Jane Carter who lives in the neighborhood.
It was a tragic situation for the usually peaceful Glenloch area where residents stroll the streets and get around on golf carts.
Many residents had to park and walk a short distance to their home. Police were tightly controlling access into the scene where one of their own was involved.
“I'm just very proud of our local police who dealt with this situation as quickly and swiftly as they did," said Laura Johnson, who lives near where the officer involved shooting occurred.
She and others expressed gratitude toward Peachtree City Police while offering condolences for the family of 67 year old William Dean who police say was killed by a single shot fired from the rifle of one of the responding officers.
"A lot of prayers for them and you know they'll be in our thoughts and I'm very sorry for their loss," said Johnson.
Peachtree City Police Chief Janet Moon said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has taken over the case. A GBI spokesperson said agents are conducting a number of interviews to determine what happened.