The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned the identity of a man who was with a Fulton County prosecutor when they were shot by the woman’s estranged husband.
Atlanta police Sgt. Greg Lyon on Saturday identified the man as 39-year-old Levon Hailey. According to public records, Hailey is from Lithonia.
Hailey and assistant district attorney April McConnell were in a blue Honda on Fairway Circle Friday morning when Tranard McConnell, the woman’s estranged husband, shot them, police said. Hailey was shot once in the jaw. April McConnell, who filed for divorce Monday, was shot three times.
Hours later, Tranard McConnell was found dead in a south Fulton County cemetery from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
April McConnell, Channel 2 Action News reported Saturday evening, was conscious at Grady Memorial Hospital, where she underwent two surgeries. When asked questions, she nodded her head, the television station reported. Authorities characterized Hailey’s condition as “not as critical as the female.” Both were expected to survive, according to Channel 2.
Authorities have recovered the gun Tranard McConnell may have used in the double shooting and the suicide, police said. Divers Friday night pulled the gun from a shallow pond at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery, where police ultimately found Tranard McConnell’s dead body.
Police Saturday provided no details of the relationship between Hailey and April McConnell and did not offer additional information about the case, which they called a domestic incident.
“This is an open investigation being worked by our homicide unit,” Lyon said. “When the investigation is closed, more information will be released.”
The story at the end of Friday
A double shooting this morning after a divorce filing on Monday changed the course of a rising Fulton County prosecutor’s life.
In what police are calling a domestic incident, Assistant District Attorney April McConnell was shot late this morning as she sat in a car with an unidentified man in south Fulton County.
The companion was wounded, and hours later, her estranged husband, Tranard McConnell, was found dead from a gunshot in a cemetery in south Fulton County.
April McConnell, an Emory University Law School graduate, a few months shy of her 32nd birthday, had filed for divorce on Monday, authorities said.
“We do believe this incident, based on our investigation, is domestic related,” Atlanta Police homicide unit commander Capt. Paul Guerrucci said in a news conference.
“As our investigation continued, we were able to ID (Tranard McConnell) as the shooter in the incident that occurred earlier today and obtain arrest warrants.”
McConnell, who was shot three times, was sitting in her car with the unidentified man, who was shot once in the face during the incident in the 2300 block of Fairway Circle, police said.
McConnell remains in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital this afternoon. Police characterized the male companion's condition as "not as critical as the female." Little is known about the man who was with April McConnell, and police declined to identify or discuss him.
“We believe that there was only one perpetrator … multiple shots fired,” Guerrucci said. “The window of the vehicle was blown out. The incident happened in the roadway in the vehicle.”
Police did not rule out the idea that the gunman may have been lying in wait for the two. “That is a possibility,” Guerrucci said.
Police searching for Tranard McConnell found his car late this afternoon at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens cemetery on Mallory Road near College Park. His body was found later in a shallow pond at the cemetery, police said. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Developments as they unfolded earlier Friday
A Fulton County assistant district attorney was shot late this morning in southwest Atlanta. Authorities have said the shooting was domestic related. We have reporters and photographers on the scene and at the hospital gathering information.
In a story earlier today, we reported a double shooting in the 2300 block of Fairway Circle in southwest Atlanta. We now know this is related to the shooting of Fulton County Assistant District Attorney April McConnell.
5 p.m.: Christopher Waller, a minister and a former principal who McConnell help prosecute as part of the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal, showed up at Grady Memorial Hospital to pray for the assistant district attorney.
4:47 p.m.: Tranard McConnell's body was found on the edge of a pond on Mallory Road. He is believed to have shot himself with a handgun.
4:36 p.m.: The suspect was found dead along the edge of a pond near a cemetery. Channel 2 is reporting that the dead man is Tranard McConnell, the husband of April McConnell.
4:28 p.m.: Channel 2 is reporting that a suspect in the shooting has been found dead in South Fulton County.
4:17 p.m.: Here's a closer look at McConnell, an Emory University Law School graduate, a few months shy of her 32nd birthday.
3:50 p.m.: Yvette Jones, spokeswoman for Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, said in an email: "I can confirm that April McConnell, the ADA who was shot today, is employed with our office. All inquiries regarding the incident/investigation are being handled by the Atlanta Police Department's Public Affairs Division at this time."
2:59 p.m.: Sources told Channel 2 the suspect in the shooting is McConnell's husband. She filed for divorce on Monday and there was no protective order, Channel 2 reported.
2:21 p.m.: Guerrucci said McConnell was not at the southwest Atlanta location on official business. He said investigators believe she knew her attacker. "That's our strongest possibility," he said.
2:17 p.m.: Guerrucci did not rule out the idea that a gunman may have been lying in wait for the two. "That is a possibility," he said.
2:15 p.m.: Police Capt. Paul Guerrucci: "We believe both victims that received gunshot wounds were inside a vehicle. The window of the vehicle was shot out. Multiple shots were fired."
2:10 p.m.: Employees from April McConnell's office were seen leaving Grady Memorial Hospital. They told an AJC reporter they could not comment.
2:05 p.m.: Police Capt. Paul Guerrucci said at a press conference that the incident was domestic related. "We do have some individuals we need to speak to," he said.
2 p.m.: Channel 2 is reporting that assistant district attorney April McConnell filed for divorce on Monday.
1:58 p.m.: MOMENTARILY: Watch live news conference on the shooting of Fulton Co. assistant district attorney: http://www.wsbtv.com/s/news/live/
1:47 p.m.: Police have discovered a car that could be related to the incident. No suspect has been identified.
First report of shooting
A Fulton County assistant district attorney has been shot, Atlanta police said.
April McConnell is in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital.
She was one of the victims in a double shooting in southwest Atlanta this morning, police said. There is no indication the incident was related to her work as a prosecutor.
Police have found a vehicle that they say may be related to the incident, however they don’t have a suspect.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told Channel 5 that the shooting is believed to be domestic.
AJC.com reporters and photographers are headed to the scene of the double shooting in the 2300 block of Fairway Circle.
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