SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A seven-hour standoff between South Fulton Police and a murder suspect began Wednesday evening and continued into Thursday morning. According to arrest warrants, the suspect claimed he slept through the standoff.
As the situation unfolded, neighbors watched through their windows and prayed for their safety.
"Oh Lord, Jesus help us. Pray that no one else gets shot if someone did get shot," a neighbor can be heard on a cell phone video sent to 11Alive. In the video, South Fulton Police can be seen with guns drawn as they stood outside the home in question along Grammercy Drive.
Jeremy Ingram, 31, would eventually be arrested and charged with murder for the death of 96-year-old Sara Barnett, his grandmother. Arrest warrants said relatives told police they witnessed Ingram as he "walked into the family room with a firearm in his hand, approached Barnett who was sitting in the recliner, and shot her."
The documents also claim he admitted to shooting her, "after which, he went to his bedroom and went to sleep in his closet. Ingram claims that he slept through the South Metro SWAT Team dispersing tear gas into the residence and was awakened by officers pulling him out of the closet."
Neighbors said during the standoff they were scared for their safety.
"It was a very uncomfortable experience, but clearly whatever it is we are going through, I don't know what happened but clearly it is a lot worse," Derrick Smith said while referencing the home in question. "There is windows shot out, the garage is gone, the front yard is destroyed."
South Fulton Police haven't released details of how exactly they removed Ingram from the home or confirmed any motive for the shooting, but in a Facebook post the department stated he was arrested and only had "minor injuries."
The warrants also allege that Ingram was read his Miranda rights, but he waived his right to an attorney. He is currently being held in the Fulton County jail and is expected to make his first appearance in court on Friday Morning.