Two Henry County SWAT officers thought they were arriving at a home Thursday to help out a woman in labor.
Instead, they were both shot before the woman, her unborn baby, her teenage son and the suspected gunman were all killed.
Days after the deadly incident, officers Taylor Webb and Keegan Merritt spoke to Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday about the incident — thankful they escaped, but mourning the lives lost.
“It was good to get out, but we still had a threat to deal with ...” Webb said. “The worst thing that happened from the entire incident is that civilians lost their lives.”
About 10:45 a.m., the two officers responded to a home along Eagle Court in the Eagle Ridge neighborhood after a relative of 39-year-old Sandra White, who was due to deliver a baby boy April 29, called 911 to report some type of violence.
When Webb and Merritt arrived, they said they saw White lying on the ground inside the garage, unresponsive, according to bodycam video released by police.
With heightened urgency, Webb kicked in the door and was immediately fired upon.
“As soon as I kicked in the door ... the guy started putting rounds on me,” Webb said. “First one hit me in the chest. The second hit my hip.”
MORE: Ambushed Henry County officers 'never saw it coming'
Merritt, who was posted behind a tree in the home’s front lawn, was then shot in the hand, he told Channel 2.
“Got hit right in the middle finger and my trigger finger,” he said. “(It) crushed my middle finger.”
After Webb was shot, his body camera fell off as he scrambled into the garage, he said. He said the decision to retreat likely saved his life, since the suspect ended up having hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
“If I tried to engage him in the doorway, I was definitely going to die,” Webb said.
Merritt, who was still at the scene, was talking to the suspected gunman, 47-year-old felon Anthony Bailey, asking where his injured officer was. In his bodycam video, you can hear Bailey respond, saying, “I don’t know. I hit him, and he moved.”
Afterward, Bailey threatened the officers by saying, “Don’t come in here ... I got a lot of shots — 30 shots and a hostage.”
RELATED: 'Shots Fired' — Body camera footage shows start of deadly Henry County standoff
By this point, several other officers had arrived on scene and surrounded the home. Webb was still trapped inside the garage and had to break through the garage door to escape — to Merritt’s relief.
“That was the best thing I’ve ever seen,” Merritt said. “Him popping his head out of that garage.”
The two officers were rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, which included shutting down I-75 for a brief period. While they were being tended to, a SWAT standoff at the home lasted for about 16 hours until Georgia State Patrol troopers entered the home and found everyone dead.
RELATED: Tragic end to standoff — 'We've got to bury three'
Bailey is believed to have shot and killed White, who he was dating, before the standoff began, and then he fatally shot her 16-year-old son Arkeyvion and himself closer to 3 a.m. Friday.
White’s relatives said she planned to name her unborn son Antonio. Arkeyvion played football at Dutchtown High School, where he was an honor student. A joint visitation for their loved ones will be held Thursday at Tabernacle of Praise Church International in McDonough from 6 to 8 p.m.
MORE: Funeral set for expectant mother, teenager killed during standoff
Watkins Funeral Home in McDonough is in charge of arrangements. An online fundraising page was created for anyone wishing to assist the family with funeral costs.
On Saturday, Merritt and Webb were released from the hospital and have been recovering at home. Both seven-year veteran officers have been placed on light duty administrative status.
RELATED: Henry County officers released from hospital after fatal standoff
GoFundMe pages for both officers were created to help them pay for their medical bills. As of Tuesday evening, Merritt's page had raised more than $3,200 and Webb's page had raised more than $1,100.
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