ATLANTA — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the midtown Atlanta barricade suspect was shot by a SWAT sniper. Meanwhile, an officer who was hurt during the standoff is now out of the hospital.
Investigators say Jay Steven Berger barricaded himself inside one of the residences above the Four Seasons hotel on 14th Street on Tuesday. Channel 2 Action News followed the SWAT standoff throughout the afternoon.
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Atlanta police said officers tried negotiating with Berger to get him to leave his residence on the 33rd floor. During the standoff, Berger began throwing things off the balcony and firing off multiple shots.
At some point, the GBI said a sniper fired at Berger and shot him. The SWAT team then took Berger into custody. Channel 2 Action News obtained video that showed a bloodied Berger being loaded into the back of an ambulance.
Atlanta police said one officer was hurt during the standoff. On Wednesday, police identified him as S.W.A.T. Officer Jonathan Caporaso. He has been treated and released from Grady Memorial Hospital.
Police did not say if Caporaso was the SWAT officer who fired at the suspect.
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Channel 2 Action News spoke with people who live and work in the area who said they could hear clear gunshots. From a nearby building, someone captured the suspect firing his weapon from the 33rd floor.
“It sounded like it was coming off the balcony,” witness William Alexander said. “We could hear constant pop pop pop.”
“After that first gunshot, it was just consistent gunfire for the next 15-20 minutes,” said Terrell Lee, who was on the 23rd floor of the building. “We actually locked the doors, turned off all the lights because we didn’t know if somebody was coming around.”
Berger has not been booked into Fulton County Jail as of Wednesday morning.
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