An overnight SWAT standoff in Hall County ended when a Gainesville man was shot and wounded around 4 a.m.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations said Hall County Sheriff's deputies were called to the scene at around 12:30 a.m. for a welfare check at a home on Lakeview Lane in Gainesville. When deputies arrived, they found Randy Berry, 34, armed with an axe inside a shed on the property with a woman.
During this time, negotiators learned Berry had also armed himself with gasoline and poured it on himself, the victim, and throughout the shed. He threatened to set the building on fire and had nailed the front door shut.
Berry stopped communicating with authorities around 4 a.m., and SWAT commanders authorized the use of force. Berry was shot in the arm, and SWAT members entered the home to rescue the hostage and help Berry. The woman was not injured, but she was taken to the hospital for observation.
Berry has since been released from the hospital and booked into the Hall County Jail. He faces felony charges for terroristic threats and false imprisonment. He also faces misdemeanor charges of obstruction and reckless conduct. Other charges are pending as the GBI and the sheriff's office continue their investigations.
