FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga, — A baby held hostage during a standoff in Forsyth County on Monday afternoon is in critical condition.
Deputies told Channel 2’s Rikki Klaus that the mother is with her child at the hospital.
Authorities said the standoff ended with the baby's father shooting and killing himself.
"My wife called, screaming that there's cops right in front of our house pulling guns," neighbor Prakash Barot said.
Neighbors told Klaus that they are in shock
Barot said he could not get home, as deputies blocked streets.
"We moved into the suburbs to stay away from such scenarios, such situations, you know, and it's scary. It's very scary," Barot told Klaus.
Investigators say around 3:30 p.m., a couple at the home along Castleberry Road was arguing, when the husband pulled a gun.
Deputies said the wife ran to a neighbor's house to call 911. The SWAT team and negotiators jumped into action.
"Her baby was also in the house," said Deputy Doug Rainwater with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. "He refused at that point to come out."
Deputies said they tried for hours to get the man to speak with them. Then the SWAT team went in to place a phone inside the house so the man could contact them.
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"Our SWAT deputies hear a baby crying upstairs, and they rushed upstairs to help this baby, to rescue the baby," Rainwater said.
Medics rushed the 11-month-old girl to the hospital. A sheriff's spokesman said they do not know the nature of her injuries.
As for her father...
"We found the father, the husband, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rainwater said.
Deputies said even they have been in shock.
"This was tough on us, too, but more importantly, we want to make sure that mother is taken care of tonight," Rainwater told Klaus.
At last check, the child was listed in critical condition. Investigators plan to release the names on Tuesday.