Man shot by police after breaking into ex-wife’s apartment, GBI says

The GBI was requested to respond Friday morning by the McCaysville Police Department.

The GBI was requested to respond Friday morning by the McCaysville Police Department.

A man was shot by police officers Friday morning after he allegedly broke into his ex-wife’s northeast Georgia home and held her and two others hostage.

McCaysville police officers fired at James Larry Parris, 51, when he pointed a shotgun at them and refused to drop it, according to the GBI. The state agency was requested to investigate the officer-involved shooting, its 54th such investigation this year.

Parris was stable Friday morning at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Cobb County and expected to recover.

The shooting ended a tense standoff inside an apartment in the McCaysville Housing Authority, just outside the city limits, police Capt. Billy Brackett said. The small Fannin County town is located just south of the Tennessee line.

Police were called to the complex just after midnight Friday after Carrie Parris said her ex-husband broke into her home and was armed with a gun. When officers arrived, Larry Parris had barricaded himself inside with the woman and two other hostages, including a 14-year-old, according to the GBI.

During the standoff, Parris allegedly fired off a shot inside the home. City police officers, Fannin County sheriff’s deputies and officers from Tennessee attempted to negotiate with the man before making their way inside.

“The male suspect refused to relinquish the firearm, pointed the firearm at officers, and shots were fired by the McCaysville Police Department,” Brackett said in a news release. “The suspect was taken into custody.”

Parris is charged with criminal attempt to commit malice murder, first-degree cruelty to children, home invasion, burglary, three counts of aggravated assault (family violence), three counts of aggravated assault on police officers, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and three counts of false imprisonment, police said.

The GBI is handling the use-of-force investigation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI's tally.

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