Armed man had several others, including children, barricaded in DeKalb Home, police say

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Five people including a baby are safe and sound after police say a man held them hostage inside a DeKalb County home Monday.

It happened on Sweetwater Creek Parkway in Ellenwood around 11:30 a.m.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was there as DeKalb SWAT officers made entry into the home, rescued a baby, and carried him to safety down the street before handing him off to another officer.

The whole thing started more than an hour earlier when an unidentified man barricaded himself into a house with five other people.

Police say he fired off several shots.

Three teenagers made a run for it and got away safely, but a mother and her baby remained behind.

Kevin Blackman told Elliot that he heard the shots down the street.

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“I woke up. I heard a couple of pops from down the street earlier this morning,” Blackman said. “We came down the street, saw a lot of motorcycles, a bomb squad truck, swat team, armored vehicle.”

The standoff prompted an immediate and overwhelming response from DeKalb County police.

“I (saw) the bomb squad, and a lot of police cars,” neighbor Norman Crawford said.

Crawford said the incident prevented him from getting back home.

“I’m worried. What’s going on? What’s happening?” Crawford said.

Police ended the situation almost as quickly as it began with SWAT making entry into the house and taking the man into custody.

Not long afterward, police reunited the baby with its mother and the teenagers, too.

“It’s crazy. Like nothing crazy ever happens in this neighborhood. It’s so peaceful, so we’re still trying to figure out what happened,” neighbor Omari Johnson said.

DeKalb police have not identified the suspect but said he is in custody and charged with assault and false imprisonment.

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