A man was killed early Thursday after he pointed a gun at four deputies, leading them to open fire on him during a SWAT standoff at a Forsyth County home, a GBI spokeswoman said.
Garrett Finley Mitchell, 31, of Cumming, had been involved in a dispute with his neighbor before the deadly shooting, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an emailed statement Thursday.
Mitchell was taken to WellStar North Fulton Hospital in Roswell, where he was pronounced dead.
Forsyth County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 3000 block of Grand Prix Street about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday regarding two neighbors arguing, Miles said.
Deputies arrested James Gail Erickson for not obeying their commands, but Mitchell ran into his home and barricaded himself inside, beginning a nearly two-hour standoff, Forsyth sheriff’s Cpl. Doug Rainwater said.
“For the next hour-and-a-half, we attempted to negotiate a peaceful ending to this,” Rainwater said. “And at different times, he would come outside the house holding the guns, but then he would very quickly go back inside. He eventually came out and confronted and approached our deputies on the outside with the handgun and the shotgun, and our deputies shot him.”
Miles said Mitchell ignored the deputies’ repeated commands and at one point aimed the gun at them, prompting deputies to shoot.
Authorities said the man never opened fire, and no deputies were injured. Deputies fired on the man to stop the threat, “fearing for their safety and the safety of others,” Rainwater said.
The deputies involved have been placed on routine administrative leave.
Erickson was charged with obstruction of law enforcement officers and possession of a controlled substance.
— Staff writer Raisa Habersham contributed to this article.
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