DeKalb County police Monday afternoon identified the gunman killed in an exchange of gunfire with SWAT officers as 20-year-old Austin Leake.
According to DeKalb police Capt. S.R. Fore, when officers responding to a call about a suicide attempt arrived at a home on Landgraf Cove, Leake started shooting at officers.
“The suspect stated out loud that he was going to kill all the police who were outside the house,” Fore said. “The suspect was shooting at police officers, vehicles and houses from the upstairs bedroom window.”
The DeKalb police SWAT team responded “and attempted to talk the suspect down,” Fore said. “However, all efforts to have the shooter surrender did not work and the suspect kept shooting at officers with a high-powered rifle.”
Police decided to evacuate the neighborhood after several rounds fired by the gunman hit a SWAT vehicle, according to Channel 2 Action News.
“Cops just began banging on my door,” neighbor Daniel Lloyd told Channel 2. “I was with my sister and they told me to evacuate immediately so we just put on a shirt and just ran out. Gunshots going in all directions. We just had to get down and just run and keep our head down.”
The SWAT team rushed the house after about five hours early Monday and found Leake dead of injuries he sustained when officers returned fire, Fore said.
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