Gunman Who Took 4 Georgia Firefighters Hostage Has Been Killed
A view of the neighborhood where the firefighters are being held hostage.
UPDATE: The standoff between a Georgia man holding four firemen hostage Wednesday evening has ended in bloodshed.
The suspect was reportedly killed after police raided his Suwanee, Ga. home.
All four firefighters were alive but suffered minor injuries.
In the process, a police officer was also shot, though his injury is not life-threatening.
Here's how it went down, as recounted by the Gwinett Daily Post's Keith Farner:
Officers entered the home at 2440 Walnut Grove Way about 7:30 p.m. in an attempt to rescue four firefighters being held hostage by a man there. SWAT used a concussion explosive prior to entering the home in an attempt to disorient the suspect. Officers then exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who died during the exchange. It was unknown if he was shot by officers or took his own life.
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Here's how the story unfolded earlier this afternoon:
Four firefighters are being held at gunpoint in a Gwinnett County, Ga. home, My Fox Atlanta reports .
One firefighter who was previously held hostage has been released.
The Gwinnett Daily Post's Keith Farner reports that the firefighter was allowed to leave in order to move a fire engine from in front of the home.
"The house is surrounded. Our negotiators are attempting to communicate with him at this point," a policeman told My Fox Atlanta.
Sometime before 4:45 p.m. EST Wednesday, the firefighters responded to a medical call, arriving with a fire engine and an ambulance, per protocol. When they arrived at the home, an armed man took them hostage inside and barricaded himself. A SWAT team is on the scene now and police aren't letting anyone into the neighborhood.
CNN is reporting that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has sent agents to assist, but that no one has said the gunman has any explosives inside the house.
"Right now we have not received any indication that our firefighters have been harmed," fire department spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge told reporters.
Farner tweeted these images of the scene:
BREAKING PHOTO: Scene where gunman holding 5 firefighters hostage in Suwanee, GA twitter.com/KeithFarnerGDP… - @keithfarnergdp
— NewsBreaker (@NewsBreaker) April 10, 2013
At least 50 police and fire vehicles in the neighborhood, which is blocked off for entry.
— Keith Farner (@KeithFarnerGDP) April 10, 2013
The hostage situation brings to mind the tragic murder of two upstate New York firefighters in December. The two firefighters were shot and killed in Webster, N.Y. when they responded to a call about a fire that was apparently a trap set by their killer.
This is a developing story. We'll have more information as soon as it's available.
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