Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish knows this could have ended very differently.
His officer who was shot wears his handset for his radio right in the middle of his chest. The bullet went right though it, into the very top of his vest.
A couple inches higher, and the officer would have been shot in the throat.
Then hours later, a second round of gunfire killed the suspect.
A neighbor shared video she took in the dark when a standoff ended in a shootout with police.
The Hall County SWAT team and Gainesville officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect when he came out of a house on Briarwood Drive around 4:30 a.m. He was later identified as 24-year-old Dakota Simmons.
It all started around 10:30 p.m. Thursday when a woman called 911 fearing for her life. Gainesville police say when they arrived, the suspect ran into a home with another woman and two children inside. Officers quickly got them safely out, then engaged Simmons.
Police say he shot one officer but they shared this photo where the bullet went through his police radio and into his bulletproof vest, saving his life.
Parrish got emotional just looking at the photo: “Could have been my guy … and it wasn’t, and very thankful to God that he’s saved."
The chief said they think the suspect tried getting away as SWAT entered the home and described the moment he came out the front door.
“There was one SWAT operator and two Gainesville police officers in the front yard that he engaged in a lot of gunfire, and we returned gunfire. And sadly, he succumbed to his injuries. No other officers or deputies were injured in that second round of gunfire.”
The officer shot just has some bruising, and he’s now out of the hospital.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- $3 billion in unclaimed funds at center of stalled Georgia bill
- ‘My children are scared’: Mother of 7-year-old killed in shooting faces suspect in court
- Person in custody following SWAT situation in Barrow County
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]