UPDATE: Suspect shot dead, another man taken to hospital after hostage situation in Smyrna

SMYRNA — A man was killed by Cobb police officers after taking a hostage – who was rescued and is in stable condition – at a Smyrna apartment complex, police said Monday afternoon.

Officers responded around 9:45 a.m. Monday to a report of an armed subject and shots fired at the Concord Crossing apartment complex, Sgt. Wayne Delk said. Nyesha Banks, a neighbor in the apartment complex, told the MDJ she heard screaming from a nearby unit around 8:30 a.m. and then a gunshot shortly thereafter.

Upon arriving at the complex, about a mile south of Windy Hill Road near Campbell High School, officers found a man throwing items off his balcony. The man, who was not identified by press time Monday, had beside him on the balcony another man who was bound at the wrists. The suspect then took the hostage inside the apartment complex.

SWAT officers and crisis intervention officers responded to the scene and one of the SWAT officers shot and killed the suspect. Delk did not know the precise time the shooting happened, or what prompted it. Police said the suspect was armed with a handgun and a knife.

The hostage was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital with significant injuries, but was in stable condition, Delk said. The relationship between the suspect and the hostage was not known, Delk added, and the hostage’s injuries were not specified.

Banks, meanwhile, speculated that the disturbance came from a nearby tenant. She said incidents stemming from that tenant have required police response before — the last came about six or seven months ago.

The incident will be investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.