NEWNAN, Ga. — One person died after being shot by a police officer in Newnan Sunday while officers responded to a domestic call, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The man killed, Sean Michael Kinney, 37, of Cumming, Georgia, was the same person arrested in 2011 for allegedly robbing and assaulting a homeowner, according to the GBI.
On Sunday, police said a neighbor called 911 about the domestic dispute on Second Avenue just before 5:30 p.m. Officers arrived at the scene within minutes. The GBI said when police couldn't contact anyone at the door, they looked into the license plate of the car parked in the driveway and identified the victim. The GBI said police tried calling the woman, but there was no answer.
"The Newnan Police Department SWAT team and hostage negotiators were activated, a perimeter was secured around the residence, and numerous attempts were made to talk with the individuals with no success," the GBI said in a news release.
Shortly before 7 p.m. SWAT approached the door, according to the GBI. They said a Newnan officer said they saw a man, Kinney, through a window with a knife and also saw a door open behind him with a woman sitting on the ground. They said Kinney turned around and started walking toward the woman with the knife in his hand, and the officer fired numerous times through the window, killing him. The woman was not hurt and no officers were injured.
Back in 2011, 11Alive reported Kinney was arrested for robbing a home on Halloween night, where police said he and another woman broke into a house in Cumming, assaulted the homeowner, tied him up and stole "a considerable amount of cash." The victim managed to free himself and get help from a neighbor.
State records show he was released in Feb. 2019 and had been out on parole after serving time in prison for burglary, robbery, and assault in connection with the 2011 crime.
As for the fatal shooting, the GBI said Newnan Police Department asked them to conduct an independent investigation. Once the GBI finishes its investigation, the case file will be given to the Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office for review. This is the seventh police shooting that the GBI has been asked to investigate in 2022. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the GBI Region 2 Field Office in Columbus at (706) 565-7888. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1(800) 597-TIPS (8477), online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.