A police officer fatally shot a man at an Atlanta-area Veterans Affairs hospital after the man took out a knife and threatened to hurt himself.
The shooting took place Monday at the Max Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said.
John Robert Smith, 58, of Decatur, arrived at the hospital threatening to kill himself, according to the GBI. Staffers took him to the emergency room, and he took out a knife.
VA police officers responded and tried to get Smith to put the knife down, but he refused and moved toward a staff member, investigators said. At that point, an officer shot Smith.
Smith’s body will undergo an autopsy at the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office.
