A man who fired a gun during a SWAT standoff and threatened to shoot at law enforcement in Hall County was shot and killed Saturday, officials said.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in the 6500 block of Samoa Way in unincorporated Flowery Branch after a woman called 911 around 6:45 a.m. to report that she had been assaulted, according to the GBI, which is investigating the incident.
The sheriff’s office said the armed man, identified by the GBI as 57-year-old David James Umpmreyville, threw the woman down the stairs, causing her to suffer multiple abrasions and bruising. He then prevented her from leaving the home, but she was eventually able to escape and take refuge at a neighbor’s home.
Hall deputies said they attempted to speak to Umpmreyville for more than two hours before calling SWAT officers to the scene. SWAT members were able to make contact with him, but he grew increasingly agitated and refused to follow officer commands, the GBI said.
At some point, Umpmreyville exited the house naked with a weapon and fired multiple rounds into the wood line near the residence, officials said. He also made threats to shoot law enforcement if they entered the house, according to the GBI. He then pointed his firearm at a deputy, which is when the deputy fired at him but did not hit him.
Umpmreyville then went to a window in the home and pointed his gun at deputies, and another deputy fired at him. That time, Umpmreyville was struck and killed.
“I always regret when these types of incidents happen, but our deputies did the difficult job they are called to do when there is a deadly threat,” Sheriff Gerald Couch said in a statement. “I am thankful no one in the neighborhood was injured, and I’m thankful that our deputies went home safe today.”
The two deputies who fired their weapons will be placed on administrative leave as part of the agency’s protocol for officer-involved shootings.
Once the GBI completes its investigation, it will turn over its findings to the Hall County District Attorney’s Office for review.
Saturday’s incident was the 89th officer-involved shooting the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2023.
