The suspected shooter accused of killing four people during a rampage inside a Henry County subdivision was killed on Sunday, officials said.
U.S. marshals confirmed that 40-year-old Andre Longmore was fatally shot after shooting at least two law enforcement members during the manhunt. The officers are expected to survive, police said.
“The monster is dead,” Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett said during a press conference late Sunday afternoon.
Authorities said three men and one woman were killed during the gunfire inside the subdivision in Hampton on Saturday. Longmore allegedly opened fire at four different locations in the residential area, where hardly anyone is a stranger. Hampton police have not said what led to the shootings and a motive is unknown.
On Sunday afternoon, authorities from several judications tracked the suspect to the 100 block of Mount Zion Parkway in Clayton County, where a shootout ensued, police said. Longmore fled on foot and was killed during another exchange of gunfire, Scandrett added. Police did not disclose where in the county Longmore was fatally shot.
He said the officer with the most severe injury was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after being shot in his lower back. The officer’s name was not released but he is conscious and talking, deputies said.
The victims from the subdivision were identified Sunday as Scott Leavitt, 67; his wife, Shirley Leavitt, 66; Steve Blizzard, 65; and Ronald Jeffers, 66, by Hampton police Chief James Turner during the press conference. The married couple and Blizzard all lived on Dogwood Lakes Drive, while Jeffers lived on Dogwood Ridge Drive.
“I think it’s important we remember the victims,” Turner said.
At Pinecrest Baptist Church in nearby McDonough, where Ronald Jeffers was a member, Pastor John Anderson encouraged worshipers to pray for the victims and their families. At the 10 a.m. service Sunday, an ensemble sang the Kirk Franklin song “My Life is in Your Hands,” which was followed by a worshiper leading the congregation in prayer for the Jeffers family.
“I thank you for the faith of the Jeffers family, the testimony of Brother Ron, the kindness he had in his heart,” the prayer leader said as he struggled to keep his composure. Anderson comforted his flock Sunday morning by reminding them that God is with them.
“God, this morning, we still believe you are good,” Anderson said.
Police have not given details about what happened Saturday morning, or the sequence of events as they unfolded.
Dogwood Lakes resident Frankie Worth said that he was debating whether to cut the grass outside his home on Dogwood Ridge at about 10:45 a.m. He went over to a nearby window to look outside.
As Worth started to open the blinds, a loud boom shook his house and echoed through the normally quiet subdivision, causing his hand to slip. Worth regained his composure for a brief moment, before he saw a man on the street holding a handgun — his hands raised in the air from the recoil.
“Now he’s pulling the weapon back down at my neighbor to get a better shot,” Worth recalled during that moment. He said Longmore didn’t need to shoot again.
Jeffers and Longmore were both neighbors of Worth, he said, and lived in separate houses at his partial cul de sac on Dogwood Ridge. Worth saw the victim’s small white vehicle driving slowly and unnaturally after the alleged fatal shot was fired from behind. He said Longmore then continued on foot toward the entrance of the subdivision.
Worth thought it was a road rage incident at first but said that Longmore was “so calm, so cool and so collected” that it changed his mind. The suspect’s pace quickened, and Worth eventually lost vision of him.
“He shot him right in front of my house,” added Worth, who then called the police. ”He could have shot at me but didn’t see me. Thank God.”
Worth called his subdivision “picture perfect.” Many of the homes surround a small lake, and the area is full of people walking their dogs or exercising. He waves to them and most people wave back, including the neighbor who he said was killed. The shooting also caused locals and several businesses in Hampton to enter a lockdown for hours, including Speakeasy Bookstore, located less than a mile away.
Samuel Broussard, who has lived in the area his entire life, told the AJC he now carries a firearm when he goes out. For him, the shooting, which occurred amid a frequent pace of mass killings this year, hit close to home.
“This is sadly kind of the reality that we live in nowadays,” Broussard said. “It could have been people that I knew that could have been killed. … I know this stuff really happens and to see it — it’s a shame the way it makes me feel personally responsible.”
On Sunday morning, Worth was among the many residents who kept their lights on in fear following Saturday’s carnage — even as the sun was already far above the horizon.
“Everybody is on high alert,” he said, prior to the death of Longmore.
The suspect had been last seen driving a 2017 black GMC Acadia that had been stolen from Blizzard, authorities said. Federal, state and local investigators searched for Longmore and actively received leads, Hampton Police Capt. Chaundra Brownlee said in a news release on Sunday.
Hampton City Manager Alex Cohilas called Saturday the “one of the saddest in the 150-year history of this city.” The last homicide recorded in Hampton was back in 2018, authorities said.
“The last 36 hours have been very sad and surreal for this community. We had no idea that tragedy would befall this tranquil and peaceful community,” he added. “We tragically lost four citizens and this community is grieving. None of us dreamed this day would come.”
City officials on Sunday discussed the need to pivot toward healing after the shooting. A vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Terry F. Jones Depot Park in Hampton to honor those who died and their families, Mayor Ann Tarpley said.
“We are asking the entire community to come out and support them and show that we have their back,” she said.
The GBI is continuing to investigate the shooting, police said.
