The man shot and killed Tuesday night by Gwinnett County officers was holding a loaded revolver, had another loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun at his feet, and had several bags of marijuana, police said Wednesday afternoon.
Four Gwinnett County officers — not three, as previously reported — fatally shot the 20-year-old Buford man who allegedly pointed a gun at them, police said. Initially, investigators said three officers opened fire.
Officers were called to apartments on North Alexander Street in Buford following a report of several people smoking marijuana, Cpl. Jake Smith said. Responding officers were frisking several people in the parking lot when one man pulled away, Smith said.
“That suspect pulled a handgun out of his clothing and held it to his own head,” Smith said in an emailed statement.
The officers ordered the suspect, identified as Jose Antonio Hernandez-Gonzalez, to drop the gun, but he refused, according to Smith. A verbal exchange between officers and Hernandez-Gonzalez lasted about six minutes, with the suspect telling police he would not put the gun down and that officers would have to shoot him, police said Wednesday.
Ricky Garrett told Channel 2 Action News he was also trying to convince his friend to drop the weapon.
“I was actually talking to him, negotiating with him, telling him to put the gun down,” Garrett said.
An officer then fired a Taser at Hernandez-Gonzalez, but the only one of the probes hit the suspect and he was able to pull it out, police said.
That’s when Hernandez-Gonzalez pointed his gun at officers, Smith said. Four other officers fired at the man, who was struck and killed. Investigators recovered the loaded handgun at his feet, along with several small bags of marijuana from his pockets, police said.
No one else was injured, Smith said. The names of the officers involved were not released.
All of the officers involved will be placed on administrative leave, which is routine following an officer-involved shooting. The Gwinnett police Deadly Force Investigation Team, which includes representatives from the county’s District Attorney and Medical Examiner’s offices, will review the case, Smith said.
Tuesday night’s shooting was the Gwinnett police department’s fourth this year, Smith said.
Friends and family members of Hernandez-Gonzalez told Channel 2 he had been depressed after his best friend was killed, and they doubted he had pointed a gun at officers. Relatives also said Hernandez-Gonzalez had no previous criminal history.
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