Evan Michael Sieli, 31, of Sugar Hill, as reported, had warrants for kidnapping and aggravated assault with the intent to rape. The allegation includes that Sieli kidnapped a 10-year-old girl. A “standoff” among Sieli and the police lasted several hours. The Brookhaven Police Department asserted that as the police attempted to arrest him, Sieli killed himself by a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Background to the police activity and Sieli’s death is provided in the Fox 5 Atlanta news coverage. Brookhaven Police reported the events began around 8:30 p.m. Monday when “officers received a 911 call from an apartment complex in the 3100 block of Buford Highway about a possible kidnapping. While a woman was talking with officers about her attempted kidnapping, police learned a 10-year-old girl in the same complex was missing.”
As reported, officers quickly learned the young girl was abducted by a man driving a black late-model BMW. “Investigators were able to use a nearby Flock camera to identify a black BMW registered to Sieli.” The report then states without detailed elaboration that “the girl returned home about 75 minutes after police were first alerted. She was taken to an area hospital as a precaution.”
Next in sequence, about 45 minutes later, Gwinnett County Police joined Brookhaven Police to serve a warrant on Sieli’s home located near Sycamore Summit NE. “When it was discovered Sieli was armed with a rifle, the SWAT team was called for backup.” As reported, investigators disclosed that Sieli stepped outside around 4 a.m. and “fired shots, leading officers to return fire. At the time, police said the other residents of the home were outside, and no one appeared to have been injured in the gunfire.”
Five to six hours later, around 9:45 a.m., “the SWAT team and Georgia State Patrol made entry into the home where Sieli’s body was found. Police said he died after shooting himself.”
One neighbor described the neighborhood as being” pretty quiet. The worse thing that usually happens is deer getting hit by cars. Another neighbor said their heart goes out to Sieli’s wife and kids.
Sieli was a man with a past, according to some neighbors. Neighbor McKenzie White spoke poignantly: “It’s just the fact that children were involved, that they had to go through that and witness that, and even though he wasn’t a great guy and did some bad things, they did lose a dad today. That’s a lot on them.”
