After being called to the 33rd floor of the Four Seasons Midtown on Tuesday morning about a disturbance, the resident manager of the condominium complex above the hotel entered the hallway and said he saw a gun raised at him. He quickly turned away but realized it was someone he knew, he said.
A 70-year-old resident, who the manager said was known for having mental health issues, weapons in his unit and Nazi paraphernalia, was at the end of the hallway screaming, pointing a gun at him and “rattling off all kinds of crazy,” he told 911 in a call obtained Wednesday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The manager then told the 911 operator that he heard the man order him not to come this way.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody,” the manager said the suspect told him.
Jay Steven Berger was eventually taken into custody that afternoon after he fired more than a dozen gunshots from inside his condo during a standoff that resulted in injuries to himself and a SWAT officer, Atlanta police Chief Darin Schierbaum said after the hours-long ordeal ended. Berger is facing charges of aggravated assault but remains in the hospital.
SWAT Officer Jonathan Caporaso sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the incident, which the GBI said might have been from shrapnel.
Atlanta Police Department
Atlanta Police Department
A woman called police around 10 a.m. saying a resident pointed a gun at the manager. He then got on the phone and told 911 that another resident had reported a mess in the hallway on the 33rd floor, so he went to check it out.
After seeing the suspect and escaping the hallway, the manager told police to get there soon because Berger was known for mental health issues.
“Do you need an ambulance for him as well?” the dispatcher asked.
”Most likely, yes, because he’ll probably need to be restrained in some form or fashion,” the manager replied.
Police responded to Berger’s unit, but he refused to come out, Schierbaum said, leading SWAT units to be called to the scene.
“He is known to have firearms and weapons in his unit, along with lots of Nazi paraphernalia,” the manager told the dispatcher.
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Just before 3 p.m., police set up a perimeter around the 14th Street hotel and evacuated the 33rd floor and the ones directly above and below. About an hour later, those in the area were asked to shelter in place. Several roads were closed during the standoff.
Officials said Berger fired shots from at least three weapons, with the bullets going through the walls and the door of his unit and off the balcony. The GBI, which was asked to investigate the shooting by Atlanta police, said an officer returned fire at one point, but the standoff continued. Soon after, the GBI said Berger started throwing items off his balcony. Video appears to show him tossing sheets and other objects over the railing.
The condo complex next door, 1010 Midtown, said several of its windows were shattered by gunfire during the incident but no residents were injured. They asked residents to stay clear of their balconies Wednesday and were closing part of 12th Street until the damaged windows could be removed.
Berger was eventually apprehended after being shot by a SWAT sniper, the GBI said. The incident was the 74th officer-involved shooting the state agency has been asked to investigate this year.
A Four Seasons resident, who has lived in the building since 2016, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she never felt unsafe around Berger but said he kept to himself and stayed in his room most of the time.
“He’s been to our apartment and we’ve been to his,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution. “We’ve been friendly over the years, but we hardly ever see him. He was kind of a recluse.”
She added that Berger regularly wore the gas mask that he was seen wearing during the standoff Tuesday.
Berger is an ophthalmologist certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, according to the Georgia Composite Medical Board. He completed his medical training at Brown University’s Ophthalmology Residency Program, and received his Georgia State Medical License in 1984. The license will expire in 2025.
He was also part of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American College of Surgeons, according to the board.
Berger opened a medical practice in 1996 in Newnan called Clear Vision Optical, Inc. The company was last registered with the state in 2008.
”My practice includes state-of-the-art cataract and refractive surgery as well as general eye exams for glasses and contact lenses,” Berger wrote on his Georgia Composite Medical Board online profile.
Jason Jones, executive director of the Georgia Composite Medical Board, declined to comment on whether complaints have been filed against Berger’s medical practices and whether the board would consider revoking his license.
According to Georgia statute, the board has the authority to limit, suspend or revoke a license if the holder has “committed a crime involving moral turpitude, without regard to conviction” or “become(s) unable to practice pursuant to this chapter with reasonable skill and safety to patients ... as a result of any mental or physical condition.”
Sequence of Tuesday’s events
- A neighbor of Jay Berger notices a mess in the hallway and contacts the condominium complex’s resident manager.
- The manager arrives, says he sees the suspect armed in the hallway and calls police.
- Atlanta officers respond at around 10:15 a.m. to the hotel and the suspect retreats inside his unit.
- The standoff begins as the SWAT team gets to the scene.
- The suspect allegedly starts firing his gun inside the apartment, leading one officer to return fire, the GBI says.
- Berger is seen allegedly throwing items off his balcony.
- By 3 p.m., police set up a perimeter around the hotel.
- At about 4 p.m., people in the area are asked to shelter in place.
- The suspect is arrested after being shot by a SWAT sniper, according to the GBI.
- The suspect is placed in an ambulance around 4:40 p.m. and taken to the hospital.
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