WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The GBI says Houston County deputies shot and killed a suicidal man who'd barricaded himself inside a home.
According to a press release by the GBI, around 10 p.m. Sunday, the Houston County Sheriff's Office responded to a welfare check on a suicidal man at 402 Tharpe Road.
When deputies got there, 44-year-old James Parks of Warner Robins had barricaded himself inside.
They say after attempts to make contact with Parks, he came out of the home holding a gun.
The GBI says Parks chambered a round as he turned toward the deputies, and then deputies shot him.
They performed first aid until EMS arrived. Parks was taken to the Houston Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Reporter Molly Jett says that she counted more than 20 bullet holes in the front of the home and another 10 in a house next door.
We asked the GBI for further details on the shooting, such as whether Parks pointed his gun or whether he made threats. Spokeswoman Natalie Ammon declined comment.
The sheriff's office also has not responded to our request for information on the officers involved.
The GBI will investigate and will turn their findings over to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to the GBI, this is the 64th officer involved shooting they have been requested to investigate in 2022.
That's ahead of their numbers from 2020 and 2021.
Over the past two and a half years, the GBI has handled more than 260 shootings by officers and nearly two dozen in Central Georgia.
That includes five in Houston County, five in Bibb, and three in Crawford County.
The GBI presents its findings to the local district attorney who decided whether the shooting is justified.
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