Atlanta Traffic

NEW DETAILS: Woman arrested after SWAT standoff had 4 children in DeKalb home

DeKalb County police and SWAT officers peacefully took a woman into custody after a standoff near Columbia Drive.
DeKalb County police and SWAT officers peacefully took a woman into custody after a standoff near Columbia Drive.
By , John Spink and Henri Hollis
Updated July 8, 2020

A woman has been arrested after authorities said she shot a man and then barricaded herself inside a DeKalb County home.

Tamyra Mackey
Tamyra Mackey

Tamyra Mackey, 41, surrendered peacefully just before 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, more than four hours after DeKalb police were called to the neighborhood near Knollberry Lane and Columbia Drive.

Around 5 a.m., DeKalb police and the department’s SWAT unit responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired at Mackey’s home. According to police spokeswoman Michaela Vincent, a man was outside the home with two gunshot wounds to the upper torso when officers arrived. Vincent said investigators believe he was shot inside the house during an argument with Mackey.

Mackey remained inside the home as police arrived on the scene. She barricaded herself and four children inside, refusing to come out, Vincent said. The children range in age from 4 to 17. After about four hours of negotiating, police convinced Mackey to surrender without further incident.

She was arrested and booked into the DeKalb County Jail, where she remains. She has been charged with one count of aggravated assault.

Details about Mackey’s relationship with the victim have not been released.

According to Maj. Danny Jordan, the police department’s south precinct commander, the man was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. He is expected to survive.

It isn’t known if the children witnessed the shooting, Jordan said. They were evaluated by emergency services, but police did not have further information on their conditions.

All lanes of Columbia Drive at I-285 were blocked while DeKalb police were on the scene investigating.

Police were called to a neighborhood near Knollberry Lane after they said a woman shot a man and barricaded herself inside a home.
Police were called to a neighborhood near Knollberry Lane after they said a woman shot a man and barricaded herself inside a home.

The area reopened to traffic just before 11 a.m.

In other news: 

About the Authors

Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.

John Spink is a multi-platform photojournalist with the breaking news team. He provides compelling photos, video and audio from breaking news events for the AJC and media partners WSB Channel 2 Action News & WSB Radio

Henri Hollis

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