Traffic stop leads to hours-long standoff in SW Atlanta

ATLANTA — A southwest Atlanta neighborhood was surrounded late into the night Tuesday after police said an armed man was barricaded inside an apartment.

Investigators told Channel 2's Carl Willis it all started over a traffic stop.

Police said the suspect, who was possibly armed, ran into a building along Whitehall Street, but, after searching the building, they believe he got away.

Willis looked on as officers with rifles checked the perimeter around the building.

"I just looked out the window, came downstairs and saw all of the cops,” building resident Musa Musa Muhammad told Willis.

Muhammad said some people were evacuated and others were told to lock up and stay put.

"The car pulled up to the driveway. He had a gun. There was another guy that was with him, jumped out the car and ran inside the building," Muhammad said.

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The building includes music and art studios, businesses and residential lofts.

One man who lives there said officers were going from unit to unit searching for the suspect. Police explained the reason behind the large response.

"We have some information that he could possibly be armed so, we've got our SWAT team on the scene as well as our hostage negotiation team," said Officer Lisa Bender, of the Atlanta Police Department.

But police would not confirm if anyone was actually being held hostage inside.

Hours after the initial contact with the suspect, police kept the building on lockdown.

Residents believed the suspect remained inside, but police did not find the man.

“There's no way. The same way you go in is the same way you have to come out,” Muhammad told Willis.

Police say there are no reported injuries in the incident.

Cox Media Group