The Brookhaven Police Department is offering few details about a deadly incident that occurred outside of Town Brookhaven shopping center on Monday evening.
Officers received a call about an armed person near Peachtree Road and Town Boulevard around 5:30 p.m. When they arrived on the scene, they encountered the armed man, who was shot by an officer and later died at the hospital. No police officers were harmed.
BPD asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to conduct an independent investigation of the incident.
On Aug. 1, GBI released a statement that a man was yelling at customers as he walked around Town Brookhaven. GBI later identified the man as Andrew Wesley Dix, 47, of Doraville.
Brookhaven police officers found Dix near the entrance of the shopping center. After trying to speak with Dix, he became angry and threw his drink at officers. One officer deployed a Taser, but it was ineffective.
“As the man charged at the officers a second officer fired his gun, hitting the man. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for his injuries and pronounced dead shortly after arriving,” the GBI reported. “During the incident, the man dropped a saw blade on the ground.”
An eyewitness said when he arrived at Town Brookhaven, Dix was receiving medical care.
“This was hard to witness, like all tragedies for a community, this man’s family, the victims, and all of the officers and first responders involved,” said Slade Stricklin, a patron of the shopping center.
“Who knows what desperation or illness led to this,” Strickin added. “While this was an unfortunate end, know that there was compassion from our whole community and please think of them as they live with this event.”
The GBI will continue its independent investigation. Once complete, the case file will be given to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office for review.