2 Henry County officers recovering following shooting, SWAT standoff

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Two Henry County police officers are recovering at the hospital after investigators said they were shot by a gunman who then barricaded himself inside a home in unincorporated Stockbridge.

A 17-hour incident ended earlyFriday morning after police said they found the gunman, a pregnant woman and her 16-year-old son dead inside the home.

Police said the gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

[LIVE UPDATES: 2 police officers shot in Henry County; Teen held hostage]

Police said a woman called them out to the home in the Eagle Ridge subdivision shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday for reports of a woman bleeding in the home.

When officers initially tried to go inside,  a man started shooting at them, police said, and an officer fired a single shot back.

The officers who were shot have been identified as Keegan Merrit and Taylor Webb. Merritt was shot in the hand and Webb was shot in the chest and hip. Both are still recovering at Grady Memorial Hospital Friday.

Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman said both officers have been with the department for seven years.

Harrowing body camera footage released by police Friday show the moments Webb and Merritt entered the home and were assailed by gunfire.

Video shows that Webb was hit first as he tried to go in the house.

Merritt ducked behind a tree in the front yard moments before a bullet hit his hand.

A second video released by the Henry County Sheriff's Office shows another officer frantically kicking through the home's garage door to help Webb get out of the garage. Webb was able to jump through the hole and officers helped him to safety.

[PHOTOS: 2 officers injured in Henry County shooting]

Police shut down part of Interstate 75 Thursday afternoon as an ambulance rushed one of the officers to Grady Memorial Hospital. A medical helicopter flew the other officer to Grady as well.

After the officers were shot, several police agencies descended on the neighborhood as the gunman barricaded himself inside the home.

For hours Thursday, dozens of police vehicles held the perimeter of the standoff as officers tried to negotiate with the suspect.

Police later identified him as Anthony Bailey.

Amerman said Friday that when officers attempted to go inside the home again Thursday night, the suspect fired multiple shots at them.

When police finally were able to enter the home around 3:30 a.m. Friday, they found all three people in the home dead.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE OFFICERS

Capt. Joey Smith said both Merrit and Webb are SWAT officers with the department and are both in their 30s.

Channel 2's Tom Regan spoke with one officer's family member outside Grady Memorial Thursday. They told him the officer is the father of two young children and is 32 years old. They did not identify which officer they are related to.

“This is the family's worst nightmare,” the officer’s father-in-law, Rick Coursey, said. “He has more courage than you can think about. This man, he puts his life on the line when he walks out the door every day,” Rick Coursey said.

Channel 2's Mark Winne, Tom Jones, Tom Regan, Christian Jennings and Richard Elliot contributed to this article.

Cox Media Group