Local

Teen suspected of stealing squad car in custody after standoff

ATLANTA — A 15-year-old suspected of stealing an East Point police car and barricading himself in his mother's home is now in police custody.

Channel 2's Ryan Young said officers fired several canisters of tear gas into a window of the home on Gideons Drive around 1:45 p.m. They used teargas to force the teen out of the home after making several attempts to talk with the teen during the three-hour standoff.

East Point police said the teen was behind the wheel of a car involved in a crash Wednesday morning near Oakland and Main streets.

Police said an officer put the 15-year-old driver involved in the crash in handcuffs before placing him in the back seat of the squad car. While the officer was attending to the accident scene, the teen climbed through the partition in the cruiser and drove off, police said.

Police said the teen crashed the cruiser as he fled from the scene around 9 a.m.

Atlanta police said they found the car in southwest Atlanta near Mozley Place and Chicamauga Avenue.

Mark Hill, a man near the scene, told Young he is the boy's older brother. He said he has asked police if he can talk to his brother, but they would not let him.

"I would just tell him, 'Just come on out before somebody gets hurt.' My concern is his safety. They're well protected, they have armored tanks and stuff, he's only 15," Hill said.

The teen's mother tried yelling at the boy through a window, but he didn't respond.

"They have a device, a phone, they can throw to someone to talk to them, but he didn't make attempt to talk to us. So there was no conversation between our officers and the suspect once he was inside the house," said Atlanta police Sgt. Greg Lyons.

Police used a fan to settle the odor of teargas they threw inside.

Police said the teen was not hurt during the incident.