A three-hour SWAT standoff in Gwinnett County, which started Thursday when a woman said her son threatened to kill her with a knife, ended with the arrest of a 37-year-old man, police said.
Shane Mattadeen’s mother flagged down a patrol officer to report “a problem” with her son, Gwinnett police spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said.
She told the officer that Mattadeen put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her Wednesday night. When he repeated the threat Thursday morning, the mother left the house, leaving three children, ages 13, 12 and 20 months, and her son’s girlfriend inside.
Police first contacted the girlfriend, who said she took the children to a local restaurant. Then officers called in the SWAT team and used Reverse 911, a system that allows authorities to notify large groups of residents in the event of an emergency, to warn them and ask them to stay indoors.
“Throughout negotiations, the suspect made numerous threats to commit suicide by cop,” Washington wrote in a news release. “He also came to the front door, acted as if he was going to surrender and went back inside the home.”
Mattadeen had barricaded himself in the house near Killian Hill Road at Colonial Trail as negotiators tried to get him to surrender, which he did, peacefully, about 5:15 p.m.
No shots were fired and no one was hurt, police said.
Police had warrants for Mattadeen’s arrest on assault charges and later discovered he was wanted for federal Hobbs Act charges, Washington said. The Hobbs Act covers extortionate threats of physical, economic and informational harm, such as blackmail.
The incident Thursday was one of several recent SWAT incidents in the metro area. Last month, Gwinnett SWAT forces responded to a man barricaded with a baby inside a Loganville home.
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