A Cartersville crash scene devolved into chaos Sunday afternoon when a man allegedly walked down a busy highway with a gun and then engaged in a shootout with police, according to authorities.
No one was hurt as a result of the gunfire, which rang out at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Market Place Boulevard around 3 p.m. Cellphone video taken by a witness shows an intersection packed with stopped vehicles, including the suspect’s white sedan and the multiple patrol vehicles that surrounded it.
Cartersville police initially got a call about a crash at that location, just outside Piedmont Cartersville Medical Center and the busy Bartow Marketplace shopping center. As they made their way there, additional calls reported a man walking in the road with a gun.
When officers arrived, the man opened fire on them and they returned fire, officials said.
The shooting was captured on the bystander’s video shared with Channel 2 Action News. Booming, rapid gunfire could be heard as vehicles drove by, including one that passed right next to where the standoff was unfolding.
“I heard them screaming, ‘Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Put your hands on the ground!’” the witness, who did not want to be identified due to safety concerns, told Channel 2. She said she initially only heard one gunshot followed by over a dozen more.
By the time it was all over, several bullets had pierced the windshield of the sedan, and a puff of white smoke was emanating from one of its sides. Eventually, officers regained control of the situation and took the man into custody, police said. He was identified as 37-year-old Shane Jacquez Barfield of Cartersville.
Barfield faces several charges, including three counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Investigators worked throughout the evening to document and gather evidence. At one point, at least 37 evidence markers littered the intersection, Channel 2 reported.
The GBI was not asked to investigate the incident, the agency told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cartersville police said they did not make the request because no one was injured.
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