Gwinnett Police officers shot and killed a man who came at them with a steak knife after barricading himself inside his home Thursday morning, authorities said.

GBI spokesperson Sherry Lang said Joseph Roy, 72, was shot a total of two times by two officers who fired three shots inside the house on Avalon Meadows Court. The street is a residential cul-de-sac near Lawrenceville not far from Gwinnett Place Mall.

Police had responded to a suicide threat call and found Roy in the bathroom, Lang said Thursday afternoon. Roy opened the bathroom door, yelled at officers, then got within five feet of them with a 6-to-8 inch knife, she said, before they shot.

Lang said she could not say whether anyone else was in the home at the time of the incident.

Police went to the house in response to a 911 call from a nearby home.

Roy was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The GBI is investigating the case.

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The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

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