Atlanta police fatally shot a man who they say had been “brandishing a firearm” in the lobby of Midtown’s Four Seasons hotel early Wednesday.
Officers got a “person armed” call at the 14th Street hotel shortly before 1 a.m. But when police arrived, authorities said the man was in front of the hotel, still with the gun, and walked around the building toward the parking garage.
He was then “confronted by the police, where they gave him several verbal commands for him to drop his weapon,” Deputy Chief Prenzinna Spann told reporters at the scene. “He refused, (and) this led to the officers discharging their firearms.”
The man was struck, and Spann said officers immediately began rendering life-saving aid as they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
“Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries,” she said.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
The man’s name has not been released. Spann said investigators were looking into what brought the man to the hotel. It is not clear if he was a guest or had another reason to be there.
The GBI has been asked to investigate the incident, but the agency has not released information.
No other injuries were reported.
Just before sunrise, yellow police tape remained outside an entrance to the luxury hotel, which has nearly 250 guest rooms and suites. A Four Seasons spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
The incident comes nearly a year after a resident of the condominium complex above the hotel barricaded himself in his condo and fired more than a dozen gunshots from inside, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
Jay Steven Berger, 70, was arrested after an hourslong standoff that resulted in injuries to himself and an Atlanta officer. He faces a slew of charges, including several counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer and obstruction.
Berger was granted a $101,000 bond with several stipulations and was released from jail Nov. 28. His case remains active in Fulton County Superior Court.
Earlier this month, Berger’s defense attorney filed a motion requesting to modify the conditions of his bond so that he could move into an assisted living facility. A ruling has not been made.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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