Georgia suspect in 4 killings shot and killed, 2 officers hurt durigng encounter, official says

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — A neighborhood south of Atlanta crawled with police on Sunday as Georgia authorities hunted for a man suspected of gunning down three men and a woman in the subdivision before fleeing.

Andre Longmore, 40, is accused of fatally shooting the victims Saturday morning before driving away from the Dogwood Lakes subdivision in Hampton on Atlanta’s outskirts, police said. Longmore is wanted on four counts of murder in the deaths. Police haven’t disclosed a motive.

Hampton Police Capt. Chaundra Brownlee said in a news release Sunday that investigators are seeking information on Longmore’s whereabouts and “actively receiving leads and looking into each tip provided.” She reiterated that Longmore is considered armed and dangerous.

Neighbor Frankie Worth said he saw that danger up close. He told The Associated Press he heard a gunshot as he was reaching for his living room window to open the blinds and figure out how much yard work he had to do Saturday.

Worth said Sunday he ducked “just for a second.” Then he looked back out the window. “You know, when you get incoming, you’ve got to know where it’s coming from,” said Worth, who identified himself as a Marine Corps veteran.

A neighbor Worth knows as Andre was standing in the middle of the street, Worth said, with his hands jerking from the recoil of firing a silver handgun.

Worth said the man appeared to have fired at a small white car being driven by another neighbor, “an older white gentleman,” who lives across from Worth. He said the shooting happened on the edge of a cul-de-sac where they all live, with Longmore about 12 feet (3 and 1/2 meters) away as the car moved off. Worth said he couldn’t see if anyone else was in the car.

Worth said he first thought he was witnessing a road rage confrontation, but said the man moved deliberately.

“He didn’t appear angry, upset, agitated,” Worth said.

Worth said Longmore appeared to evaluate whether he needed to shoot again and then “started walking casually” toward the entrance to the subdivision, before picking up his pace to a “brisk stride.” Worth said he ran upstairs, watching Longmore disappear behind some trees, as he called police.

Worth said he heard no more gunshots after that.

Hampton Police Chief James Turner told reporters Saturday that detectives were investigating at least four crime scenes in Dogwood Lakes, where at least three police cars remained present Sunday, limiting access.

Police did not immediately identify the victims.

Public records show Longmore lived in the neighborhood, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of downtown Atlanta, where about 40 houses on two streets flank a lake.

After the shooting, Longmore fled in a black GMC Acadia SUV, police said.

Ron Foster, who lives on the main road outside the subdivision entrance, said Longmore drove through his yard and his neighbor’s yard, destroying multiple ornamental windmills and leaving tire tracks still visible in the grass a day later. Foster was inside his house and heard the crunch of metal, coming out to find the destroyed windmills.

“What was going through that man’s mind after he did all he done?” Foster wondered. “It was unreal.”

Foster didn’t know at the time that multiple people had been shot, but said he got a call from a friend who is a retired police officer.

“He called me and said ‘Ron, y’all stay in or go somewhere,'” Foster said “We did.”

Foster and other neighbors said Longmore could sometimes be seen walking along the road toward Hampton’s small downtown, about a mile (.6 kilometers) away. Foster said Longmore once approached him while Foster was mowing his yard.

“He came up to me and said ‘You’re the police, aren’t you?'” Foster said. “He came up to me and tried to argue with me.”

At the neighboring First Baptist Church of Hampton, members of the security team were approaching unfamiliar cars in the parking lot and keeping doors locked during Sunday services.

Longmore doesn’t appear to have a listed phone number and The AP could not immediately find a family member or attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandrett said Saturday that his office is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Longmore’s arrest and prosecution.

He also addressed Longmore directly, saying: “Wherever you are, we will hunt you down in whatever hole you may be residing in and bring you into custody. Period.”

Hampton is home to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Georgia’s racetrack for NASCAR events. The town of 8,500 people also has benefited from Georgia’s movie production boom.

The shootings marked the 31st mass killing of 2023, taking the lives of at least 153 people this year, according to a database maintained by The AP and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University.

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Murphy reported from Indianapolis.

Jeff Amy And Tom Murphy, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Georgia suspect in 4 killings shot and killed, 2 officers hurt durigng encounter, official says

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