A man accused of killing four neighbors in the Atlanta suburb of Hampton, Georgia was killed Sunday following a manhunt, officials said.
“The monster is dead,” Henry County Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. “The entire state of Georgia can breathe a little easier tonight.”
Police traced the suspect from Saturday’s bloodshed to an area near the border between Henry and Clayton counties, about 20 miles south of Atlanta, he said.
Officers shot the man twice before he was “neutralized” and eventually pronounced dead, Scandrett said.
Officers had been looking for Andre Longmore, 40, and a GMC Acadia SUV he was believed to be driving. On Sunday, authorities issued an arrest warrant on four counts of murder.
Officials said Longmore fatally shot four residents of Dogwood Lakes Drive and Dogwood Ridge around 10:45 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, Hampton Police Chief James Turner identified the victims as Scott Levitt, 67; Shirley Levitt, 66; Steve Blizzard, 65; and Ronald Jeffers, 66.
He said the motive remains a mystery. Longmore was a resident of the Dogwood Lakes Drive community. The Acadia was stolen from Blizzard, Turner said.
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“This community is in mourning,” said Hampton City manager Alex Cohilas. “We are grateful that we have found a solution where there has been no further loss of life.”
Turner said his town of more than 8,000 people last reported a homicide in 2018 and is one of the safest communities in the state. “It’s just not normal for us,” he said of Saturday’s violence.
Scandrett spoke of “a few” police officers who were injured on Saturday. The most serious injury on Saturday was to an officer who was shot in the back, the sheriff said.
The officer is conscious, breathing and expected to survive, Scandrett said. At least one other officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The rampage and law enforcement response were investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
