The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of the man killed in Sunday night’s officer-involved shooting in Bethlehem: Robert Reynolds was 60 years old. Deputies say he opened fire on them when they responded to a reported domestic disturbance. They shot back. Reynolds died after being taken to a nearby hospital. The GBI is investigating.
From WSB TV…
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified a man shot in a confrontation with Barrow County Sheriff’s Office deputies Sunday night.
Deputies responded to a domestic violence call at the Thorn Brook subdivision. Upon arriving they rang the front doorbell but no one answered.
“They heard the garage door open and the suspect pointed a gun at the deputies. (He) fired the gun at the deputies and they returned fire. The suspect stopped shooting at the deputies after they returned fire at him. Medical assistance was given,” Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith told Channel 2′s Tom Regan.
The GBI says the man shot, 60-year-old Robert Reynolds Sr., died at a local hospital. No deputy was injured.
People who live in the rural subdivision were left shaken.
“I was pulling in as the cops were pulling in and I pulled in behind them. A neighbor said she heard about 30 to 40 gunshots go off,” said neighbor Peyton Dempsey.
The sheriff urged the public to seek de-escalation in an incident of family tension that can lead to violence.
“We urge people to separate themselves in they can. It’s a vicious cycle and it’s gone on for years. If you wind up in a situation like that, and when you add a firearm to that and you allegedly shoot at deputies, that is going to be the cause of a situation like this behind us. We pray for the family that was involved in this, at this hour, pray for neighbors who had to hear it. Hopefully, this won’t happen again in the near future,” said Smith.
This is the 96th officer-involved shooting that the GBI has been asked to investigate so far this year.