Police fire rounds into two homes trying to stop fleeing suspect

NORCROSS, Ga. — Residents in a Gwinnett County neighborhood are baffled after police accidentally fired several rounds into their homes. It happened as police were trying to stop a fleeing felon.

Several rounds sailed into Sue Nguyen's home Sept. 1. She was at church. Her son was home.

Nguyen told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh she's very frightened and is now having trouble sleeping at night. She showed Kavanaugh the holes in her walls and furniture that span from the living room into the kitchen.

Gwinnett County police said they were aiming for Chezare Haynes, a convicted felon, with multiple outstanding warrants including possession of a firearm, hi-and-run and fleeing from police.

Police tracked him down at a Norcross home on Midridge Drive, round the corner from Nguyen's.

But Haynes wouldn't surrender. Instead, police said he sped out of the garage.

"Two officers right next to the vehicle as he sped past them and the officers fired at that time," said Cpl. Ed Ritter with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Police said this wasn't the first time Haynes nearly injured an officer.

"For the week leading up to this, there were two or three incidents where he fled causing different accidents and so on," Ritter told Kavanaugh.

Ritter would not speculate if the officers' actions violated protocol.

"I'm going to go into details on it because it all varies because of the situation," Ritter said. "He's extremely dangerous to the public. Any time we try to make contact with him this is the end result."

But police said the incident is under investigation. Three officers are on paid leave, which is standard.

"Nothing ever really happened like this. You know bullets flying, there's not too many places you can go," neighbor Anita Winn told Kavanaugh.

Winn said she saw the incident unfold. But, when she saw the guns drawn, she ducked away from the windows.

"It's just crazy how they could open up fire in a residential neighborhood," Winn said.

Police said it is possible all rounds that went into the home were the result of one shot from a shot gun. That is still being investigated.

Police are still searching for Haynes.

WSBTV