DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A report of a man with box cutters seeming to go after cars brought a heavy police response along LaVista Road on Thursday afternoon, the DeKalb County Police Department said.
DeKalb police and SWAT responded to the situation.
Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter spoke exclusively with the man’s mother, who believes he was going through a mental health crisis.
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“My son is not a criminal. My son would not attack nobody,” she told Kleinpeter, asking not to be identified.
Authorities said despite several hours of attempting to talk with the suspect, the man refused to leave the house unarmed.
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SWAT used gas, entered the home, and took the suspect into custody without further incident.
The man’s mother said she’s her son has displayed signs of schizophrenia for years now, but she’s been unable to get him help.
No officers were hurt in the action, the police said. They also didn’t disclose if the man was hurt.
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According to the spokesperson with the police department, he is being charged with aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and obstruction.
“It’s thanks to our responding officers and S.W.A.T. team that we were able to bring this to a safe resolution,” Officer Elise Wells with the DeKalb County Police Department said.
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