Athens police assist in Oglethorpe County armed standoff

Vehicles from the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department responded to a hostage situation in Maxeys on Wednesday afternoon. The hostages were released and the man was arrested, the Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page. (Torin Smith/The Oglethorpe Echo)

The following story is reprinted with permission from The Oglethorpe Echo

By Echo staff

A man was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to end a standoff at a house on Poplar Creek Road in Maxeys.

The man had released an unspecified number of hostages before he was arrested.

“There was an individual having a mental episode and it involved threats and guns and shots fired,” the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page. “The family was safely removed from the home and the subject was taken into custody after a standoff and some chemical persuasion.”

The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office, Athens-Clarke County Police Department and the Georgia State Patrol responded to the situation. A helicopter also was seen overhead at one point Wednesday afternoon, witnesses told The Oglethorpe Echo.

There were nine law enforcement vehicles near the intersection of Laurel Street and Poplar Creek Road, and another seven farther down Laurel Street, near the Maxeys Community Center.

An Athens-Clarke County SUV blocked the intersection of Poplar Creek Road and Laurel Street and an Athens-Clarke County Emergency Management Mobile Communication truck was parked at the Maxeys Post Office at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The Echo will have more details in its Aug. 15 edition.