DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A terrifying late-night ordeal unfolded at a DeKalb County apartment complex when residents say a man armed with a machete went door-to-door trying to break into apartments and threatening people inside.
One of those residents was 74-year-old Ms. Brown, who said she was awakened around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday by loud banging on her door.
“A mad man had a machete,” Brown said.
Brown told Channel 2’s Tom Regan she heard repeated kicks against her apartment door.
“I heard bam, bam, bam,” she said.
According to Brown, the man appeared angry about a cross and another religious item she had displayed outside her apartment. She said he yelled threats and returned multiple times to kick her door.
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“The door started coming out. I had to take my sofa and push it against the door because it was coming out of the frame,” Brown said.
“I was terrified beyond words.”
Residents say the man moved through the building, kicking several doors and attempting to force his way inside apartments.
The situation ended when another tenant shot the intruder after the man allegedly broke into his apartment.
A short time later, Brown heard gunfire.
“I don’t know who shot him. I’m glad someone did shoot him,” she said. “Because he was wielding around that machete, and he was planning to kill people.”
Brown described the suspect as appearing completely out of control.
“Completely insane. Couldn’t be in his right mind,” she said.
The wounded suspect was transported to a hospital with injuries that investigators described as non-life-threatening.
Authorities have not released the man’s identity, and no other injuries were reported.
The incident remains under investigation.
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