COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb police shot and killed a man after he ignored multiple orders to drop his gun, investigators said Tuesday.
The GBI says the gunman was living in the U.S. illegally and had an active deportation order.
Police were initially at the home on Bradley Avenue because they heard gunshots and were then told a man in the neighborhood was armed, Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell learned.
Shell casings were littered in the middle of a road and bullet holes could be seen in a nearby home.
“Out of nowhere you just hear riffle shots, and oh there’s a shootout,” said neighbor Emmanuel Puga. “I ducked down, like I don’t want to get caught in the crossfire.”
Puga’s aunt grabbed her children and hid in a back room.
“Yeah, she was really afraid,” he said.
Officers say Hermelindo Morete-Dista, 27, walked out of the home Monday night with a gun and pointed it at officers after they told him to drop it multiple times.
We spoke with his brother, who only speaks Spanish and didn’t want his face on TV. A neighbor translated what he said.
“He’s worried that it was him that he did something wrong,” he said.
A neighbor said she saw police detain an older woman and other people in the home.
The GBI did not provide additional information about the case.
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