Gunfire erupted around 5 a.m. Monday at a home in the 1100 block of Cobra Circle in Hinesville, and one person was transported to a Savannah hospital after being cut when he reportedly threw himself through a window.
According to an incident report filed by Hinesville Police Department Patrolman Scott Mercer, several officers responded to the home in the Eagles Landing subdivision after receiving a report of multiple gunshots being fired in the residence. As officers arrived and set up a perimeter around the single-story dwelling, they heard glass breaking and a man yelling near the back of the house. A 911 center dispatcher advised the officers on scene that a man had called in to report a hostile takeover and claimed someone was in a closet in the house.
As officers prepared to enter the residence, a man — later identified as Jerrell Cortez Smith — dove through the upper pane of a window in the home that he shared with his family.
Officers picked up a 40-caliber semiautomatic handgun from near the spot where Smith landed.
Smith reportedly told the officers he had seen individuals in his backyard and thought they were after him. He declined to say whether he had fired the gun, according to Mercer’s report.
Two adults and a 2-year-old child safely exited the home as the weapon was being fired.
Officers Scott Hensler and Ivan Saez cleared the residence and found multiple shell casings strewn throughout the residence.
A family member told officers he locked himself in a room when the firing began, but said Smith kicked in the door. Bullet holes were found throughout the home.
According to Detective Melvin Kesner, Smith initially was taken to Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville but later was transported to Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. He sustained numerous cuts when he went through the window.
Smith is being charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, reckless conduct and discharging a firearm within Hinesville city limits.