Man claiming to have bomb dies after standoff
MARIETTA, Ga. — A man who claimed to have a bomb that could “take out the room” barricaded himself inside a suburban Atlanta bank Friday, sparking an hourslong standoff that forced police to bust through a brick wall of the building and ended when an officer shot and killed the suspect.
Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce confirmed the man died in an “officerinvolved shooting.” Pierce said a police bomb squad had rendered safe a backpack in which the suspect claimed to have a bomb. Police were still analyzing the contents to determine if the suspect actually had explosives, he said.
Two people were freed shortly after a militarytype vehicle smashed its way through the wall, raining bricks onto its hood.
Several heavily armed police officers had converged on the bank earlier.
Police had said the man inside the bank near Marietta had made threats and was with an unknown number of employees.
WSB-TV in Atlanta reported the station received a call Friday morning from a man said he was inside the bank and talked for more than 30 minutes.
The man told the station’s assignment desk that he had a bomb and two people with him.
The man said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone, the station reported. He also said he was a homeless Marine Corps veteran who had served in Iraq and that he was unhappy with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care to veterans. The man’s identity had not been released and his claims could not be verified.