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Police kill man who murdered boy with ax

By SAEED AHMED , YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/06/06

A Fulton County police officer fatally shot a man who authorities said killed a boy with an ax, then tried to attacked the officer.

A spokesman for the police department said the officer responded to a call of a child hurt at the Chastain apartments on 4558 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs about 8:30 p.m. Monday.

There, he found a 9-year-old boy lying on the street outside with an ax "embedded in his face," said the spokesman, Cpl. Gary Syblis.

The suspect, a 21-year-old man, was still at the scene at the time. When the officer tried to talk to him, he ran across Roswell Road to another apartment complex, the Chateau Villa apartments, Syblis said.

The officer followed. The suspect threw a tire at the officer, breaking his arm, then tried to come after him with a stick, Syblis said.

The officer fired three times, hitting the suspect. Both the officer and the suspect were taken to a local hospital, where the suspect died from his wounds.

Police did not want to divulge a motive for the death of the child, but said the suspect was not related to the boy nor did he know him.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office Tuesday identified the boy as Jordin Paulder of Jonesboro. The man killed by police was identified as Santos Cabrera of Sandy Springs.

The investigation continues, and the officer, whose name has not been released, was placed on routine administrative leave.

Residents of the Chastain apartments on Tuesday described Jordin as a chubby-faced, friendly 9-year old.

He had been playing with neigborhood children earlier, said Erika Delgado Cruz, 23.

Then, she heard the boy's father screaming and asking for help.

When she went outside, she saw the boy lying in the parking lot in front of her apartment.

Zulma Garcia, 17, who was visiting Cruz, also heard screams and tried to help.

She said the ax was lodged in Jordin's face and he was bleeding profusely.

Both apartment complexes are located near the intersection of Roswell Road and Windsor Parkway, about 2.5 miles inside I-285. They are home to mostly Hispanic residents, many of whom tried to make sense Monday night of why a man would so brutally kill a child.

Rumors and hearsay spread among residents — the boy had said something to anger the man, some speculated; the boy was playing with friends and the man charged at him, others reported having heard.

"It's just an ugly scene and we're still sorting through all of it," said Syblis, the police spokesman.