CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County police confirmed one of their officers, two women and a suspect are dead after a shootout at a domestic call Tuesday night.
Police Chief Kevin Roberts says a 12-year-old boy and another officer were also shot. Roberts identified the officer killed in the line of duty as Field Training Officer Henry Laxson.
Police identified the suspect as Arthur Allen Gilliam, 35, of Rex, Ga.
The 12-year-old is in critical condition but stable. The wounded officer, identified as Alex Chandler, is expected to survive.
Police said they went to the area of Hwy. 42 and I-675 on Tuesday night to check a domestic disturbance call. Police received another call about a child shot at a second location.
By the time officers arrived at Jervis Court, they found the boy and tried to render aid to one of the women victims in the yard. That is when police said Gilliam started firing on the officers from an unknown location.
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Gilliam was killed during an exchange of gunfire with officers. The names of the two women who were killed have not been released.
UPDATE: This is field training officer Henry Laxson. He was shot and killed in the line of duty overnight. SWAT officer Alex Chandler was also shot in the hand, he’s expected to be okay. Chief Kevin Roberts says this entire incident is senseless & should’ve never happened. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/v7bqKLJXDp
— Kristen Holloway (@KHollowayWSB) December 1, 2021
Dozens of Clayton County police officers lined the streets near Grady Memorial Hospital as an ambulance carrying Chandler pulled into the ER entrance.
Sound On: A neighborhood just shared with me ring doorbell video, you can hear the barrage of gun fire that echoed in this Clayton Co neighborhood. Two officers were shot and taken to area hospital. Stay with @wsbtv for the latest pic.twitter.com/l5Rpp2o215
— Ashli Lincoln WSB-TV (@AshliLincoln) December 1, 2021
Officer Laxson is the third north Georgia police officer killed in the line of duty since November.
Henry County Officer Paramhans Desai was shot as he attempted to make an arrest on Nov. 5. He died from his injuries days later.
Jackson County Deputy Lena Marshall was also shot at a separate call on Nov. 5 when she responded to a domestic incident. She died from her injuries on Nov. 8.
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