A police officer was shot dead during a shootout with a suspect trapped in a home where two women were found dead and a boy was shot in the face in an Atlanta suburb Tuesday night.
The shooting in Rex, southeast of the city, occurred at around 8.40pm Tuesday night, and left a 12-year-old boy in critical condition after he was shot in the face, and a second officer recovering from a gunshot wound to his hand.
The slain cop was later identified as Field Training Officer Henry Laxson. He is the third Georgia police officer to be killed in the line of duty in the past month, and the eighth this year.
The suspect in the shooting, who has not been named as of Wednesday morning, was also killed in the exchange.
Clayton County police say he was involved in a domestic dispute with the two slain women before the shooting.
The slain cop among four people killed last night in Georgia in a bloody street fire fight was identified as Field Training Officer Henry Laxson (left and right). He is the third officer to be killed in the line of duty in Georgia in the past month
Laxson, center, had just been promoted to his position as a field training officer in October
According to authorities, officers were responding to multiple reports of a drive-by shooting, a boy shot nearby and a domestic violence situation in Rex, about 20 miles southeast of Atlanta, at 8:40pm ET, when the shootout occurred.
They were met at the scene by the bloodied 12-year-old boy who managed to direct officers to a residence where the gunman was located, and a woman was found motionless in a yard.
'While trying to locate the juvenile victim and render aid to the female victim, officers received fire from an unknown location,' police spokeswoman Sgt. Julia Isaac said in an emailed statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The gunman then retreated into the residence and was confronted by other officers who had approached the home from its rear.
At that point, Clayton County Police Chief Kevin Roberts said, the unidentified gunman continued to fire 'unfortunately striking two of our officers.'
Laxson was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition in the aftermath, Roberts said during an early Wednesday news conference at the scene, while another officer, Alex Chandler was shot in the hand. Chandler is expected to survive.
Meanwhile, Roberts said, officers who remained on the scene 'were able to return fire, killing the suspect.'
Afterward, he said, officers entered the home and discovered two women who appeared to have been shot dead before officers arrived on the scene.
Clayton County police have since confirmed the two women were involved in a domestic dispute with the shooter, the same domestic dispute they had originally been called to the scene for.
Alex Chandler, right, another police officer on the scene, was shot in the hand
The 12-year-old boy was transported to hospital, where he was listed in critical, but stable, condition in the early hours of Wednesday.
Roberts said he could not yet confirm the names of the victims because their next-of-kin had not been informed.
The suspect in the shooting has also not been named as of Wednesday morning, and an investigation is ongoing.
As of Wednesday morning, no other information about what led up to the violent shooting has been released.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now conducting an independent investigation of the shooting, and is planning on conducting an autopsy on the shooter.
They were seen on Wednesday gathering evidence at the scene, and once the investigation is complete, the case will be handed over to the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office for review.
The shootout began at around 8.40pm near the 3600 block of Jervis Court, in Rex, Georgia
Officers arrived on the scene after receiving several calls about a shootout and a domestic violence incident in the neighborhood
Authorities say officers met with a 12-year-old boy who had been shot in the face who led them to residence where they encountered a man with a handgun who had opened fire at the officers
The Clayton County Police Department updated the public about the incident in a Facebook post early Wednesday morning
Police said last night they received three reports before the shootout.
The first advising there was a drive-by shooting near the 3600 block of Jervis Court in Rex; the second advised there was a female lying motionless in the yard which changed the call to a shooting; and the third advising a juvenile male was shot at a secondary location.
A video from a Ring doorbell in the neighborhood, obtained by WSB-TV reporter Ashli Lincoln, captured the moment at least a dozen shots were fired in what residents say is a normally quiet neighborhood.
According to witnesses, the suspect who died was not working alone. They told CBS 46 that there were at least two men shooting at the officers.
Clayton County police have not confirmed whether a second suspect was taken into custody, CBS 46 reports, but say no suspects are at large at this time.
'I heard like a set of gunshots and then probably, maybe like a couple of minutes later, I heard like ... it was a shootout type of gunfire shot,' resident Carrington Green told Fox 5 Atlanta, with another telling CBS 46 that bullets hit her house and several of her neighbor's homes, shattering windows and piercing walls.
But Syrae Green told Fox 5 these kinds of shootings are rare in the neighborhood.
'This doesn't really happen in our neighborhood,' she said. 'Our neighborhood is quiet, and for this to happen, is kind of scary.'
A video from a Ring doorbell in the neighborhood captured the moment at least a dozen shots were fired in what residents say is a normally quiet neighborhood
In his news conference early Wednesday, Roberts said: 'These men and women do an honorable job every day... and it's unfortunate that we have to make these reports time and time again.
'My heart aches for every police officer and their family that go through these type of things. These things just shouldn't happen.'
Laxon was a veteran officer and a member of the county's tactical team. He been commended on several occasions, according to the Clayton County Police Department Facebook page.
He had been promoted to his current position just one month prior to the deadly shooting.
Suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill paid tribute to Laxson in a post last night, describing him as the 'finest and unquestionably our very best'.
He said: 'Laxson far exceeded all expectations of what an ideal police officer should be. I will greatly miss your smile young man. Rest easy son, the brotherhood will continue the watch from here.'
Gov. Brian Kemp also tweeted Wednesday morning: 'Officer Henry Laxson was killed in the line of duty last night in a situation where multiple others also died by the gunman.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted his condolences to Laxson's family Wednesday morning
'Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, colleagues, and friends. Laxson is said to be one of Clayton’s finest and best officers.'
Officers gathered outside Grady Memorial Hospital, where Laxson was pronounced dead, following the shooting, Atlanta's WSB-TV reported.
He is the third north Georgia police officer killed in the line of duty since November, WSB-TV reports.
Henry County Officer Paramhans Desai was shot as he attempted to make an arrest on November 5. He died from his injuries days later.
Jackson County Deputy Lena Marshall was also shot at a separate call on November 5 when she responded to a domestic incident. She died from her injuries on November 8.
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