Former Cavs big man was in same Atlanta hotel hours before scary active shooter scene

A 70-year-old man allegedly fired at least 15 shots from his Four Seasons hotel room in the city of Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. Former Cleveland Cavaliers player Drew Gooden alleged that he checked out of that very same hotel just hours before the shooting took place.

The man was armed with several weapons, including a rifle, handgun and shotgun. A pair of police officers returned fire on the suspect, who was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. However, it isn’t known at this time if the suspect was actually shot or not.

The incident stemmed from a call police received that morning regarding a mental health emergency. Allegedly, the suspect was involved in an altercation with someone who works at the hotel.

Police later called on the man to surrender peacefully and move to the door of his hotel room, but instead, he began shooting. However, he eventually gave in and raised his hands, and a SWAT team then took him into custody.

Gooden played more games with the Cavaliers than any other NBA team, and he was a solid starting big man during his time in Cleveland. Across 292 games played (290 starts). he averaged 11.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per contest. He also shot 48.3 percent from the field and 74.0 percent from the free-throw line during that span.

His first season in Cleveland — the 2004-05 season — was arguably his most impressive, as he averaged nearly a double-double of 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while playing in every one of the Cavaliers’ 82 games.

Gooden spent much of his time in the NBA bouncing from team to team though, as the Cavaliers are just one of 10 teams he suited up for during his playing days. The Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic are among the plethora of other NBA teams he played for at one point or another.

Thankfully, Gooden left the Four Seasons hotel before the scary active shooter situation went down, and fans of the Cavaliers can breathe a sigh of relief.