WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A six-hour standoff ended Tuesday afternoon after officers and a Warner Robins man exchanged gunfire.
Officers from the Warner Robins Police Department as well as the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and Houston County Sheriff's Office had a neighborhood blocked off as they tried to negotiate with the 32-year-old man.
"We tried to limit him so he had to talk to us, so that we could try to bring to a conclusion by getting him to come out," says Warner Robins Interim Chief Roy Whitehead.
Renaldo Rashad Smith locked himself in his home on Somerset Drive around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, hiding from law enforcement who were trying to serve him warrants. After hours without a resolution, they decided to take action.
"We knew that within a little bit, you were going to start seeing school buses and other things return to the neighborhood. That all entered into the decision to go ahead and try to bring it to an end," says Whitehead.
Whitehead says that's when the SWAT team made a move.
"At the point that they deployed CS gas in an attempt to get the subject to come out, he opened fire on the officers," Whitehead adds.
Then, officers fired back. Smith was hit in the forearm and taken to a hospital for treatment. Whitehead says there were no hostages, and Smith never made any demands.
"He continued saying that he did not want to go to jail," says Whitehead.
That's because Smith has several warrants out for his arrest.
"He has warrants for failure to appear in Houston County superior courts, and other courts. He also had some charges pending in Texas," says Whitehead.
Now, Whitehead says Smith could face more charges, like unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Whitehead believes they handled the situation appropriately.
"It's a tragedy anytime we have to use force and someone gets hurt, but this is a positive outcome because he will recover from his injuries," Whitehead adds.
The officers that shot at him will be on administrative leave while the GBI investigates, which is standard procedure.
No officers were hurt. At this time, we do not know how many officers will be on administrative leave.