Man surrenders after hours-long standoff at Villages of East Lake

ATLANTA - A man has been taken into custody after shots were fired, prompting an hours-long standoff at the Villages of East Lake apartment complex on Tuesday.

Officers responded just after 8:30 a.m. to the 1500 block of Forest Lakes Ave. SE after reports of shots fired. Investigators say a man told officers he had heard someone yelling and cursing at him, and the shots fired.

When he turned around, he says he saw a man on the balcony above pointing a gun at him. He told investigators he then heard at least two more shots being fired before the man on the balcony walked back inside.

Officers knocked on the man’s door, but he became irate and slammed it shut.

The Georgia State Patrol SWAT team was called to the scene and were eventually able to talk the man out of the apartment.

Police identified him as 39-year-old Roderick Ballard.

He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

No one was injured.