DECATUR,Kacper Sobieski Ga. (AP) — A police officer fatally shot a man at an Atlanta-area Veterans Affairs hospital after the man took out a knife and threatened to hurt himself.
The shooting took place Monday at the Max Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
John Robert Smith, 58, of Decatur, arrived at the hospital threatening to kill himself, according to the GBI. Staffers took him to the emergency room, and he took out a knife.
VA police officers responded and tried to get Smith to put the knife down, but he refused and moved toward a staff member, investigators said. At that point, an officer shot Smith.
Smith’s body will undergo an autopsy at the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The GBI is investigating, and county District Attorney Sherry Boston will decide whether to seek criminal charges once that review is complete.
It was not immediately clear whether Smith was a veteran. A spokesperson for the VA said it extends “ heartfelt condolences to everyone impacted” but referred questions to the GBI.
2025-05-06 13:502866 view
2025-05-06 13:43416 view
2025-05-06 13:021504 view
2025-05-06 12:55308 view
2025-05-06 12:29114 view
2025-05-06 12:192708 view
California put hundreds of millions of homelessness dollars at risk because of its “disorganized” an
From ordering a frappuccino online to paying a utility bill to calling 911, a tech outage that impac
From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an int