Police said a man inside the home fired toward officers before later dying by suicide.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Two people were found dead Sunday inside an East Cobb home after a welfare check on Vandiver Drive became an hourslong SWAT standoff involving gunfire, a police drone, crisis negotiators and an officer-involved shooting, authorities said.
The case began with relatives’ concern for a woman believed to be inside the home and ended with separate investigations by Cobb County police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Police said the woman’s cause of death had not been released Sunday night. They said the man inside the home died by suicide after being wounded by police fire during the standoff.
Cobb County police said officers from Precinct 4 went to the home in the 3100 block of Vandiver Drive near Rainwater Drive around 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Family members had contacted police because they were worried about people at the residence. Officers arrived, saw a man inside and tried to speak with him, but he would not come to the door. Officer Aaron Wilson, a Cobb County police spokesman, said officers kept trying to make contact while they worked to secure a search warrant. At about 11:06 a.m., police said, officers heard a gunshot from inside the home. Police said no officer fired that shot.
The gunshot changed the call from a welfare check into a barricade response. The Cobb County Police Department’s SWAT team was called to the residential street, and officers set up a wider perimeter around the home. Police said they used a drone during the response and saw the man inside with a handgun. Crisis negotiators and SWAT officers tried to reach him by loudspeaker and other methods. “They tried to establish communication, and he refused every attempt that was made,” Wilson said. Investigators said the man later fired toward officers from inside the residence. A SWAT sniper returned fire, and police said the man appeared to be wounded.
Police said the man was still alive after the officer-involved shooting, and officers continued trying to communicate with him. Authorities said the standoff continued for several more hours before the man took his own life around 4 p.m. Officers then entered the home and found two people dead inside. Police had not released the names of the man or woman by Sunday night. Authorities said the original welfare check was for the woman, but they had not said how long she had been dead, how she died or whether she was alive when officers first arrived. Police said the man and woman knew each other, but early public updates differed on whether their exact relationship had been confirmed.
No officers were reported injured during the standoff. Police also said no one else inside the home was harmed. Vandiver Drive sits in a residential part of East Cobb near Sandy Plains Road, Ebenezer Road and Rainwater Drive. The response brought SWAT vehicles, marked patrol units and a large police presence to a normally quiet neighborhood for much of the day. Residents described hearing police commands over a loudspeaker and later hearing what sounded like gunfire. Dawn Anderson, who lives nearby, said she and her family moved to the basement after hearing shots. “We grabbed the grandchild and relocated to the basement and stayed there, sheltered in place until we got the all clear,” Anderson said.
Other neighbors said the police response was unusual for the area. Joshua Price, a nearby resident, said the scene stood out because the neighborhood is usually calm. Anderson said she knew the family from walks in the area and described the case as a tragedy for relatives left behind. The standoff drew attention from residents who came outside after hearing officers call for someone to leave the home. Police did not report any wider threat to the neighborhood after the scene was secured. The home remained part of an active death investigation Sunday evening, with investigators expected to review officer body camera video, drone footage, witness statements and physical evidence from inside the residence.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the officer-involved shooting, which is standard when an officer fires a weapon during a police call in Georgia. That review is expected to focus on the moment the SWAT sniper fired, the threat officers faced and the sequence of gunfire during the barricade. Cobb County police said their Major Crimes Unit is separately investigating the deaths inside the home. That inquiry is expected to address the woman’s cause and manner of death, the man’s actions before and during the standoff, and whether a final timeline confirms when each person died. Police had not announced any charges by Sunday night because both people found inside the home were dead.
Several key facts remained unknown in the first hours after the standoff. Authorities had not said what led family members to request the welfare check, whether officers had prior calls at the address, whether a firearm was recovered from the home or how many total shots were fired. Police also had not said whether the woman suffered gunshot wounds or another injury. Wilson said officers made repeated attempts to end the standoff without further harm before it turned deadly. The GBI is expected to release more details after its initial review, while Cobb County police are expected to identify the two people after next-of-kin notifications and further investigative work.
As of Sunday night, the home on Vandiver Drive remained the center of two investigations. The next public update is expected from Cobb County police or the GBI after investigators complete initial reports, identify the two people found dead and release more details about the woman’s death.
Author note: Last updated May 3, 2026.