A standoff between Peachtree

City police and a deranged man at a local hotel ended safely Christmas

Day, police said.

The suspect, Fuchen Wang, 50,

of Chattanooga, Tenn., retreated to his hotel room after throwing rocks

at the first police officer who responded to the scene, police said. Officers

were called to the Days Inn on Ga. Highway 54 West to respond to an intoxicated

person damaging a hotel room, police said.

As officers determined whether

to wait out the situation or force their way in, the hotel was evacuated

as a safety precaution, said Police Chief James Murray.

One of Wang's friends

unsuccessfully tried to convince him to come out safely, Murray said.

Police also learned Wang had recently been fired from the Chin-Chin restaurant

because of his delusional behavior, Murray said.

Once the officers determined

there were no hostages inside, the main concern became whether Wang had

any weapons, Murray said.

The department's Special

Response Team (SWAT unit) came to the scene and used a special chemical

gas to force Wang out, Murray said. Instead, Wang stayed in the room.

Officers then used a distracting

explosive to disorient Wang as they burst into the room, Murray said.

Wang was found underneath a

mattress and dragged outside where he struggled briefly before being arrested,

Murray said.

Instead of booking Wang at

the Fayette County Jail, Wang was sent to West Central Regional Hospital

for evaluation and treatment, police said.

"He was extremely, extremely

delusional," Murray said. "He had no sense of reality."

Wang was charged with felony

aggravated assault on a police officer, felony obstruction of a police

officer, felony arson and misdemeanor criminal damage to property in the

second degree.

Police determined Wang had

a box cutter and a butcher knife at the time of the incident. The mattress

had burn marks on it and "numerous" areas of the room had been

slashed, damaged or painted, police said.

Since the Special Response

Team was used, the team's actions will be critiqued to make sure

the situation was handled properly, Murray said.

Murray said he made the call

to enter the hotel room, but the decision was difficult because it was

unclear if Wang was armed. The fear was that Wang might set a fire causing

much damage to the hotel and the wooded area nearby if officers didn't

act quickly enough, Murray said.

"You don't know if

this was a case of suicide by police officer," Murray said, referring

to cases across the nation when a suspect forces a police officer to use

deadly force in a suicide bid instead of committing suicide on their own.

"Everybody did a great

job," Murray said. "It was a happy ending."

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