SUGAR HILL, Ga. — A series of events, including a 911 call about a kidnapping, resulted in a man dying by suicide Tuesday after an hours-long Gwinnett SWAT situation, authorities said.
This all started out in the Brookhaven jurisdiction Monday night. Brookhaven Police said just before 8:30 p.m., they responded to a call about a 10-year-old girl who had been kidnapped in the 3100 block of Buford Highway.
Police learned during their investigation the child had been abducted by an "unknown suspect" who was driving a black BMW. Officers used license plate readers and were able to identify a potential suspect vehicle, Brookhaven Police added.
However, around 10:15 p.m., police said they learned the girl had returned home. By that point, police said they were able to identify a 31-year-old man, from Sugar Hill, as the owner of the car. They said warrants were then obtained to arrest the suspect for kidnapping and aggravated assault with the intent to rape.
That's when Gwinnett Police got involved. Brookhaven Police said in a news release they requested the department's assistance to serve the warrants around 10:50 p.m.
Officers responded to a home in the 1200 block of Sycamore Summit -- not far from Cumming Highway. Hours later, around 1:45 a.m., Gwinnett Police said the suspect was seen with a rifle, which activated their SWAT team.
"For the safety of the community, Gwinnett SWAT and Uniform officers closed the roadway and contacted residents near the incident location, asking them to evacuate the area," Gwinnett Police said in a news release.
Gunfire broke out around 4 a.m. The man refused to come outside and shot at police, Gwinnett Police Cpl. Winderweedle said. The gunfire hit a SWAT robot and a nearby home. A Gwinnett SWAT officer, police said, returned fire.
The man then retreated into the house; negotiators spent several hours trying to make contact with the suspect.
The scene is what many residents woke up to Tuesday morning. Joe Hall, a resident in the neighborhood, said he saw flashing lights, but thought nothing of it, believing it was passing cars. Just after 7 a.m., he said he looked out of his window and saw the neighborhood filled with police cars.
Around 9:45 a.m. Georgia State Patrol assisted Gwinnett SWAT to go inside the home. Police said the man died by suicide from a gunshot wound.