Officer shoots man armed with knife on Buckhead road, police say
Atlanta police on Tuesday shot a man who approached an officer while brandishing a knife on a Buckhead road, officials said.
The incident happened after Atlanta police responded to a 911 call about a man who was allegedly behaving violently on Lenox Road NE, about a mile south of Lenox Square mall. After police arrived, they encountered the man on the sidewalk near the 3000 block armed with a knife, according to the GBI and Atlanta police Maj. Peter Malecki, who spoke to reporters at the scene.
“Officers gave him multiple commands to drop the knife. He refused. They attempted to use less lethal options. Those didn’t work,” Malecki said.
At some point, the man lunged at one of the officers with the knife, and a police officer fired their weapon, striking the man, Malecki said. Officials believe the man was struck twice, he said.
The GBI, which has been asked to investigate the shooting, later said the man “approached one of the responding officers, brandishing a knife,” before the officer fired.
Police officers rendered aid to the man, who was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. He was reported to be in critical condition.
The GBI identified the man as Randee Gilliam, 59, of Lithonia.
No officers were injured.
The incident began around 2 p.m. when a woman called 911 after she said she got into an altercation with Gilliam, whom she had just recently met, according to law enforcement.
He became violent and “damaged some property at her apartment,” Malecki said. The GBI later added he “had forced his way into her home.” Officials confirmed the woman was not injured.
“The woman stated she then fled her home and called 911. The woman also told responding officers she had witnessed Gilliam doing drugs and that he had begun to act erratically,” the GBI said in a statement.
A maintenance worker also reported seeing Gilliam with a knife and a crowbar, according to the GBI. That worker, who sought safety by locking himself inside a leasing office, provided a description of the man to police who later located the man in the road, Malecki said.
Sean Tackett said he was sitting in his living room when he heard what sounded like two gunshots. He described the neighborhood as “pretty safe” and was surprised to see so many police officers in the area.
“We didn’t know what was going on, so we saw the (police) tape go up, and then we stepped outside and saw someone get carried out on a stretcher,” Tackett said.
Parts of Lenox Road were closed for several hours as authorities worked the scene.
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