A man shot six people Saturday afternoon, killing four of them, including his ex-wife and several children before turning the gun on himself on a quiet, suburban Atlanta street, police and neighbours said.
Horrified neighbours called police and tended to the severely injured victims as best they could before rescuers arrived.
The shooting happened about 3 p.m. in a housing development west of Atlanta, Douglas County Sheriff's Lt. Glenn Daniel said.
The shooter, whose name was not immediately released, appeared to have targeted his ex-wife and his own family, including several children who tried to flee, Daniel said.
Authorities did not release the names of the victims because they were still trying Saturday to contact the next of kin. Investigators believe the gunman killed himself at the end of the shooting spree.
Investigators were still trying to determine the shooter's motive and piece together what happened.
"I've been in law enforcement out here 20 years and this is the worst I've ever seen," Daniel said. He did not know when the couple divorced or if they had prior contact with law enforcement.
Teresa Carter, 59, said she heard the gunfire from inside her home but did not see what happened. Police said victims were shot inside and outside the home.
Carter said she often saw the children playing in the driveway and around the neighbourhood. They enjoyed petting her dog.
"I heard shots, and I heard the girl scream," Carter said. "And then I heard four more shots."
Daniel said a man came to a house and shot his ex-wife and several children. Police were still working Saturday to identify the victims and confirm their relationships, he said.
'I've been in law enforcement out here 20 years and this is the worst I've ever seen.'- Lt. Glenn Daniel, Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Daniel said he did not know when the couple divorced or whether the family had prior contact with police.
"I've been in law enforcement out here 20 years and this is the worst I've ever seen," Daniel said.
“We had multiple victims shot in the street,” Deputy Chief Stan Copeland of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office told WSB-TV in Atlanta earlier Saturday.
“Some of those are siblings, so some [of] these [people] are related. We just don't know who is who right now,” Copeland said.
'It's very devastating. Nothing ever really happens here.'- Shelton Price, neighbour
"I've been with the sheriff's office 38 years and I've never seen this many victims in one shooting in my 38-year career," Copeland told WGCL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Atlanta.
Kenya Beyah, who lives about four doors down from the home where the shooting began, left flowers at the scene Saturday evening. She didn't know the family but said she saw kids playing outside from time to time.
"It's just shocking," said another neighbour, Geraldine Price. "As a parent, you don't want to think that a mother would lose her child. It's just shocking altogether and it's sad."
"It's very devastating," added Shelton Price. "Nothing ever really happens here."
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