Suspect in Georgia mass shooting that killed 4 people is dead, official says
CNN, WANF
By Claudia Dominguez, Joe Sutton and Zoe Sottile, CNN
(CNN) — Andre Longmore, the man accused of fatally shooting four people in Hampton, Georgia, on Saturday morning, was killed in a shootout with police, according to Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett.
At a Sunday news conference, Scandrett announced authorities tracked the suspect and confronted him.
“The suspect returned fire and hit the ground running,” the sheriff said, adding authorities chased him and “he produced a handgun again.”
Authorities then engaged in another gunbattle with Longmore, leaving him dead and two officers injured, Scandrett said. One of the officers was severely injured and was life-flighted to a hospital.
“He was hit in the rear of his back,” the sheriff said. “He is conscious, breathing and talking.”
The sheriff called it an “absolute honor” to serve with those officers and said those in the community “can breathe a little bit easier, sleep a little better tonight. This monster is off of our streets.”
Longmore is accused of fatally shooting four people, sparking a manhunt across metro Atlanta as police departments worked to track him down.
The mass shooting was reported around 10:45 a.m. ET Saturday, Hampton police Chief James Turner said Saturday.
The incident happened in an area close to the Dogwood Lakes subdivision in Hampton – about 29 miles south of Atlanta – an area that features lakefront homes and a nearby Baptist church.
Police identified the victims Sunday as three men and one woman: Scott Leavitt, 67; his wife, Shirley Leavitt, 66; Steve Blizzard, 65; and Ronald Jeffers, 66. Turner said all four lived in the subdivision.
Authorities said that suspect, who also lived in the Dogwood Lakes community, stole the vehicle of Blizzard.
Authorities were offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to Longmore’s arrest. “The suspect is known to be armed and dangerous,” Scandrett said Saturday, vowing to “hunt” Longmore down.
Police said a motive wasn’t clear and said they didn’t believe Longmore was related to any of the victims.
On Saturday, Hampton Mayor Ann Tarpley said “today is a sad and somber occasion” and vowed the person responsible would be held responsible and “brought to justice.”
“We ask that you lift up the families and the victims in your prayers, your thoughts, and that you give them the privacy that they may need to overcome this horrific tragedy,” she went on.
The shooting is one of at least 387 mass shootings in the United States in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive, like CNN, defines a mass shooting as one that injured or killed four or more people, not including the shooter.
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