Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- A veteran Gwinnett County police officer shot and killed a man who lunged at him with a knife early Saturday morning, a police spokesman said.

The officer responded to a suspicious activity call about 6:30 a.m. at the Tanglewood Park Apartments at 5355 Sugarloaf Parkway in Lawrenceville. A person who called 911 reported that a man was damaging a parked vehicle with a large knife, said Cpl. David Schiralli, a spokesman for the Gwinnett County Police Department.

When the officer arrived, he confronted the man and told him several times to drop the knife, Schiralli said. The man did not comply and lunged toward the officer with the weapon.

The officer feared for his safety and shot the man, Schiralli said. The man was transported to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The man's identity was still unknown Saturday evening, but police believe he lived in the apartment complex, Schiralli said. Investigators with the Police Department's Deadly Force Investigative Team are interviewing witnesses and attempting to determine what prompted the man's actions.

The officer, whose identity has not been released, has been placed on routine administrative leave pending the completion of an internal investigation.