Associated Press
LOCUST GROVE, Ga. — Police in an Atlanta suburb say they shot and killed a man inside a burning house early Thursday, finding a woman dead with burns and rescuing two other adults and a child who were locked inside a bedroom.
Officers responded around 3:40 a.m. to a report of a house fire with people trapped inside, said Locust Grove Police Chief Derrick Austin. They broke through the back door and found a man wielding a large knife. After the suspect refused to drop the knife, officers shot and killed him, he said.
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Officers then found the woman dead with burns in an upstairs bedroom, Austin said. It’s not clear what caused her death. Officers found three others in a second bedroom and escorted them safely outside.
Authorities in the town about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of downtown Atlanta have not yet identified the people who died or explained whether all the people involved are related.
No officers were injured. Firefighters put out the fire.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading an inquiry into the police shooting, as is standard procedure. The Henry County district attorney will then decide whether any criminal charges are warranted.
