‘I’m heartbroken’: Mother of suspected Henry County shooter apologizes to neighbors
By Hope Dean & Rebekka Schramm
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — Two days after a man shot and killed four people in a Henry County subdivision, the suspect’s mother is apologizing to neighbors for her son’s alleged actions.
“I’m heartbroken,” Lorna Dennis told Atlanta News First.
On Saturday, police named Dennis’ son, 40-year-old Andre Longmore, as the suspected shooter. After a day-long manhunt, Longmore died on Sunday in a shootout with law enforcement in Jonesboro.
Dennis said she wants her neighbors to know that she’s sorry for what her son did.
Longmore served in the 82nd Airborne Division for six years and won several awards for stellar performance, according to Dennis. But he saw death in Afghanistan and Iraq, which led to his mental decline years later.
Suddenly, Longmore couldn’t sleep. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia, Dennis said. She tried to get him help, but Longmore refused. He didn’t think anything was wrong.
Now, Dennis believes the military created “a monster,” she said.
Dennis added that Longmore attacked her on Friday, a day before the shooting. She was not seriously hurt.
On Sunday, authorities named the shooting victims as Scott Leavitt, 67, Shirley Leavitt, 66, Steve Blizzard, 65, and Ronald Jeffers, 66. Scott and Shirley Leavitt were married and looking forward to retirement, according to a family friend who launched an online fundraiser.
Neighbors who spoke with Atlanta News First said that the event shook them.
“I just can’t believe it,” Roy Hendrix, who lives close to one of the victims’ houses, said. “I never would have thought in a million years something like this would transpire.”
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