Man dies after shootout with Douglas County deputies
DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. - Family members of the man involved in a shootout with law enforcement officers in front of a Douglas County home Wednesday morning, say he has died. Investigators later confirmed his death.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation would identify the man as 29-year-old Steven Blunt, of Douglasville.
The shootout, which was at a home near the intersection of Ferncrest Place and Leatherleaf Trail, between law enforcement and Blunt was caught by a Ring doorbell camera. FOX 5 has chosen not to show the full video.
This actually started around 11:18 a.m. and was less than a mile away from the home. Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds says deputies heard radio chatter about a lockdown at New Manchester High School located of Georgia Highway 92 at Gilbert Branch.
Sheriff Pounds says a man showed up with a gun at a Special Olympics event being held at the location.
School resource officers were alert and deputies responded. K-9 units were brought in to assist in the search. Sheriff Pounds says those units were able to track the man to the nearby subdivision and were able to pinpoint an exact house using cellphone data.
Around 12:11 p.m., a man could be seen coming to the door when law enforcement knocked on it. The doorbell camera video shared by the family shows a brief conversation and the gunfire.
GBI agents say Blunt pulled out a handgun and shot at deputies during the conversation. One of the deputies returned fire, striking Blunt, investigators say. He was rushed to an area hospital where he later died.
"I talked to a lady and she was that a young man ran back behind her house, was a shooting at the school. So, I’m like, ‘Well, I know that wasn’t my brother because when he came out of the house, he had his robe and stuff,’" said the victim’s sister. "So, I’m not really sure what happened, but I just know that an innocent person was shot. And, I know, once he was shot, they was still shooting him and he was already down."
Douglas County Sheriff discusses deputy-involved shooting
Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds discusses a shooting involving school resource officers after he says a man brought a gun to a Special Olympics event at New Manchester High School. This video is courtesy of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
The GBI Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy.
No deputies were injured.
The GBI says this is the 25th officer-involved shooting this year it has been asked to investigate.