\n<\/p>\n
An off-duty Atlanta police investigator was fatally shot by a homeowner during an attempted break-in early Friday morning in Douglas County, Georgia. Authorities have released video footage and additional details regarding the incident, which occurred around 5:08 a.m. on Orkney Way in Winston, a community just west of metro Atlanta.<\/p>\n
The deceased, identified as Aubree Horton, 32, was a veteran officer with the Atlanta Police Department\u2019s fugitive unit. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/a><\/em> reported he had been recently honored as \u201cInvestigator of the Year\u201d at the Atlanta Police Foundation\u2019s Crime is Toast ceremony. According to the Douglas County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Horton was reportedly experiencing a \u201cmental health episode or under the influence of narcotics\u201d when he attempted to enter the residence.<\/p>\n Video footage released<\/a> by the sheriff\u2019s office shows Horton, shirtless and shoeless, running toward the home\u2019s front door while shouting \u201cJesus\u201d and \u201cHelp me.\u201d He then attempts to force the door open by slamming into it multiple times, at one point shouting, \u201cNo, kill me.\u201d Horton later sits on the steps, taking deep breaths with his hands on his face as the homeowner, who had been in bed, tries to communicate with him.<\/p>\n The homeowner\u2019s wife, who had just left for work, was alerted to the situation by notifications from their Ring doorbell camera and called 911 after witnessing Horton\u2019s behavior. The sheriff\u2019s office detailed that the homeowner, concerned for his safety and that of his wife\u2014whom he believed could still be at the residence\u2014armed himself and approached the front door.<\/p>\n \u201cThe homeowner attempted to determine what was happening and asked Horton if he could help,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said in a statement. However, when the homeowner slightly opened the door to better communicate with the distressed man, Horton forcibly rushed inside, knocking him to the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFearing for his life and in defense of his home, the homeowner discharged a single round from his firearm, fatally wounding Horton inside his home,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\n The homeowner and Horton were strangers to each other, and the sheriff\u2019s office confirmed that there was no domestic disturbance involving Horton leading up to the incident. The residence had been the target of a previous burglary in 2021, which prompted the homeowner to enhance security measures, including installing cameras and reinforcing doors.<\/p>\n A Douglas County patrol officer who lived nearby and was about to leave for work responded to the scene after hearing the commotion. When sheriff\u2019s investigators arrived, they initially struggled to identify Horton due to his lack of identification and disheveled appearance. His identity was later confirmed using a portable fingerprint scanner, and it was discovered that he lived within walking distance of the home.<\/p>\n The investigation is ongoing, with toxicology reports and other evidence still pending. The sheriff\u2019s office noted that it could take months for the toxicology results to be completed. Video footage released from the incident has been partially redacted, with segments, including the sound of the fatal shot, held back until the case is closed.<\/p>\n While authorities continue to gather evidence, the sheriff\u2019s office indicated that charges against the homeowner are unlikely.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAfter reviewing the available facts, we do not believe charges will be filed against the homeowner,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office stated, emphasizing that the shooting appeared to be an act of self-defense under the circumstances.<\/p>\n The video is sad to watch as the off-duty officer is obviously suffering a tragic mental breakdown of some kind and left the homeowner with little choice even as he sought to help the man out. Both the Douglas County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> and the Atlanta Police Department extended their condolences to Horton\u2019s family and colleagues, describing the situation as a \u201ctragic and unusual event.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![<\/a>Screenshot from the Ring doorbell that captured a distressed off-duty Atlanta police officer attempting to break-in to a home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nAn off-duty Atlanta police investigator was fatally shot by a homeowner during an attempted break-in early Friday morning in Douglas County, Georgia. Authorities have released video footage and additional details regarding the incident, which occurred around 5:08 a.m. on Orkney Way in Winston, a community just west of metro Atlanta.<\/p>\nThe deceased, identified as Aubree Horton, 32, was a veteran officer with the Atlanta Police Department\u2019s fugitive unit. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/a><\/em> reported he had been recently honored as \u201cInvestigator of the Year\u201d at the Atlanta Police Foundation\u2019s Crime is Toast ceremony. According to the Douglas County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Horton was reportedly experiencing a \u201cmental health episode or under the influence of narcotics\u201d when he attempted to enter the residence.<\/p>\nVideo footage released<\/a> by the sheriff\u2019s office shows Horton, shirtless and shoeless, running toward the home\u2019s front door while shouting \u201cJesus\u201d and \u201cHelp me.\u201d He then attempts to force the door open by slamming into it multiple times, at one point shouting, \u201cNo, kill me.\u201d Horton later sits on the steps, taking deep breaths with his hands on his face as the homeowner, who had been in bed, tries to communicate with him.<\/p>\nThe homeowner\u2019s wife, who had just left for work, was alerted to the situation by notifications from their Ring doorbell camera and called 911 after witnessing Horton\u2019s behavior. The sheriff\u2019s office detailed that the homeowner, concerned for his safety and that of his wife\u2014whom he believed could still be at the residence\u2014armed himself and approached the front door.<\/p>\n\u201cThe homeowner attempted to determine what was happening and asked Horton if he could help,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office said in a statement. However, when the homeowner slightly opened the door to better communicate with the distressed man, Horton forcibly rushed inside, knocking him to the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cFearing for his life and in defense of his home, the homeowner discharged a single round from his firearm, fatally wounding Horton inside his home,\u201d the statement continued.<\/p>\nThe homeowner and Horton were strangers to each other, and the sheriff\u2019s office confirmed that there was no domestic disturbance involving Horton leading up to the incident. The residence had been the target of a previous burglary in 2021, which prompted the homeowner to enhance security measures, including installing cameras and reinforcing doors.<\/p>\nA Douglas County patrol officer who lived nearby and was about to leave for work responded to the scene after hearing the commotion. When sheriff\u2019s investigators arrived, they initially struggled to identify Horton due to his lack of identification and disheveled appearance. His identity was later confirmed using a portable fingerprint scanner, and it was discovered that he lived within walking distance of the home.<\/p>\nThe investigation is ongoing, with toxicology reports and other evidence still pending. The sheriff\u2019s office noted that it could take months for the toxicology results to be completed. Video footage released from the incident has been partially redacted, with segments, including the sound of the fatal shot, held back until the case is closed.<\/p>\nWhile authorities continue to gather evidence, the sheriff\u2019s office indicated that charges against the homeowner are unlikely.\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cAfter reviewing the available facts, we do not believe charges will be filed against the homeowner,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s office stated, emphasizing that the shooting appeared to be an act of self-defense under the circumstances.<\/p>\nThe video is sad to watch as the off-duty officer is obviously suffering a tragic mental breakdown of some kind and left the homeowner with little choice even as he sought to help the man out. Both the Douglas County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> and the Atlanta Police Department extended their condolences to Horton\u2019s family and colleagues, describing the situation as a \u201ctragic and unusual event.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\nSource link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Screenshot from the Ring doorbell that captured a distressed off-duty Atlanta police officer attempting to break-in to a home. An off-duty Atlanta police investigator was fatally shot by a homeowner during an attempted break-in early Friday morning in Douglas County, Georgia. Authorities have released video footage and additional details regarding the incident, which occurred around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Atlanta-Officer-Suffering-Mental-Episode.jpg\"){kind=link}