HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Police in Henry County have identified the four victims killed in a mass shooting in a Hampton neighborhood Saturday.
Authorities in Henry County said the suspect, Andre Longmore, shot and killed the four around 10:45 a.m. Saturday before being killed by Clayton County Police and Henry County Sheriff's Office officers on Sunday afternoon. Three officers were injured in the shooting.
On Sunday, Hampton Police Chief James Turner identified the four victims tragically gunned down:
- Scott Leavitt, a 67-year-old man who lived on Dogwood Lakes Drive
- Shirley Leavitt, Scott's wife, a 66-year-old woman who also lived on Dogwood Lakes Drive
- Steve Blizzard, a 65-year-old man who lived on Dogwood Lakes Drive
- Ron Jeffers, a 66-year-old man who lived on Dogwood Ridge
"The last 36 hours have been very sad and surreal for this community," the Hampton City Manager Alex Cohilas said. "We had no idea that tragedy would befall this tranquil and peaceful community. Yesterday will certainly go down as one of the saddest in the 150 year history of this city. We tragically lost four citizens and this community is grieving.
Pinecrest Baptist Church identified one of the male victims as 66-year-old Ron Jeffers of Hampton, a member of the church. In a social media post, the church said Jeffers was the first victim gunned down by Longmore and that he died Saturday morning at Piedmont Henry Hospital.
The church talked about Jeffers and his family during the service that was live streamed Sunday morning.
"God, I thank you for the faith of the Jeffers family," the pastor said. "I thank You for the testimony of brother Ron, the kindness he treated others with, the song that he had in his heart and that he shared with others. Thankful for Rachel and Missy and Brit and the rest of their family."
Longmore had reportedly last been seen escaping in a black 2017 GMC Acadia that did not belong to him.
Photos from the scene showed several police cars outside the Dogwood Lakes subdivision off McDonough Street in Hampton, Georgia, about 35 miles south of Atlanta.
During a Saturday afternoon press conference, Henry County Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett promised Longmore that "wherever you are, we will hunt you down in any hole that you may be residing in and bring you to custody. Period."
The mass shooting rocked the quiet and tight-knit town of Hampton.
Community members who spoke with 11Alive along Main Street were still struggling to believe what had happened.
Inside a book shop filled with stories, the news they heard sounded more like a nightmare. Speakeasy Bookstore owner Don Cannon and his wife moved their family there 11 years ago. Since then, he has marveled at how safe of a city Hampton is and how much they've enjoyed everyone in the entire community.
"It's just shocking," Don's son Samuel said. "You know and then something like this happens and it just kind of like shakes that perspective of a calm hometown, loving community."
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Frankie Worth was in the Dogwood Lakes neighborhood early Saturday morning, when a jump-scare shook him.
"I heard 'pow!' When I heard that one single shot, I kind of jumped back," Worth said as he watched from the window, explaining he was afraid he was going to be next. "I saw my man's arms rise up in the sky, then he dropped his arms back down and I thought he was going to take a second shot. The only thing that had me shook was just how cool and collected he was about the whole thing."