An armed suspect was arrested after barricading himself inside the Four Seasons Hotel and engaging in a confrontation with Atlanta police and SWAT officers in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday.
On a Wednesday press releaseThe Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) said it was investigating an “officer-involved shooting” in Atlanta.
“Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 10:12 a.m., Atlanta Police responded to a report of a suspect pointing a gun at an employee of the Four Seasons Hotel,” the news release said. “The residential manager was contacted by a resident who reported that a subject had thrown items into the hallway on the 33rd floor.”
According to the press release, the manager went to the floor and was confronted by 70-year-old Jay Berger, who pointed a gun at him. After returning to the ground floor of the hotel, the manager alerted the police.
When law enforcement officers arrived at the hotel, the 70-year-old barricaded himself in his apartment. The GBI explained that SWAT officers were called and dispatched to the hotel.
“The subject began firing a weapon in his apartment and in the hallway. As bullets were fired through the walls at SWAT officers, one officer returned fire,” the GBI said in its news release. “One SWAT officer was injured during the incident (possibly from shrapnel). The suspect then went to the balcony of his apartment and started throwing things off the balcony. At some point during the encounter, a SWAT sniper shot at the subject, hitting him.
The SWAT team was eventually able to enter the suspect’s apartment and arrest Berger. The GBI said Berger was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and that the suspect would be booked into the Fulton County Jail upon his release from the hospital.
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According to Fox News said during a Tuesday press conference that Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Berger appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis and had been involved in an altercation with a hotel employee. Schierbaum told reporters that Berger allegedly fired at least 15 shots during the incident.
“While the efforts were underway, he began to fire a weapon,” Schierbaum said. “We believe he fired at least three different weapons; pistols, shotguns and rifles, shooting through the walls.
Fox News reported that multiple charges are expected to be filed against the 70-year-old suspect, including reckless endangerment and aggravated assault.
A video Tuesday’s standoff shows law enforcement surrounding the hotel as Berger fired several shots.
One second video shows Berger throwing several items off a hotel balcony before firing several shots.