Police ID women found dead in shooting that killed Clayton County officer

Clayton County police on Thursday released the names of the two women killed during a shooting that left one officer dead.

Field Training Officer Henry Laxson was one of four people killed, including the shooter, in the incident that began around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday in Rex, Clayton County police Chief Kevin Roberts said. Mary Gilliam, 70, and Dominique Bibbins, 32, were also killed, police said.

Laxson was the third Georgia officer killed in the line of duty in the past month and the eighth in 2021. Funeral arrangements for Laxson were pending late Thursday. His patrol car has been parked in front of Clayton County police headquarters, located at 7911 North McDonough Street in Jonesboro, for those wanting to place flowers in his honor.

“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,” Roberts said. “My heart aches for every police officer and their family that goes through these types of things. These things just shouldn’t happen.”

Several 911 calls were placed to report a domestic disturbance and a shooting near the 3600 block of Jervis Court, where a woman was found motionless in a yard, according to Sgt. Julia Isaac, spokeswoman for Clayton police. Another 911 caller reported a boy had been shot nearby, Isaac said.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

“While trying to locate the juvenile victim and render aid to the female victim, officers received fire from an unknown location,” Isaac said in an emailed statement.

A 12-year-old boy who had been shot in the face led officers to a home, Roberts said. There, a man fired shots at officers before running to the rear of the home, the chief said. Behind the home, the same man was involved in a shootout with additional officers who had arrived at the scene, the chief said.

The suspect, identified by the GBI as 35-year-old Arthur Allen Gilliam of Rex, was killed, Roberts said. Investigators believe he also killed the two women. His relationship to the women was not released. Address records show Arthur Gilliam lived in the Jervis Court home.

The child was in critical condition and Officer Alex Chandler was shot in the hand, according to police. Laxson was taken to Piedmont Henry Hospital but did not survive.

The GBI confirmed it is investigating the officer-involved shooting, and Clayton police are handling the domestic situation that spurred the triple shooting.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

In a Facebook post, Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill called Laxson of the county’s “finest” officers.

“Officer Henry Laxson was one of Clayton’s finest and unquestionably our very best. Laxson far exceeded all expectations of what an ideal police officer should be,” Hill posted. “I will greatly miss your smile, young man. Rest easy, son, the brotherhood will continue the watch from here.”

Laxson is the sixth Clayton County officer killed in the line of duty, according to the Officers Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths. In March 2015, Officer Darryl Wallace, 26, died when he tried to avoid striking another motorist and instead over-corrected and left Tara Boulevard, police said.

On Nov. 8, both a Henry County officer and a Jackson County deputy died from injuries after separate shootings days earlier. Jackson County Deputy Lena Marshall, 49, and Henry police Officer Paramhans Desai, 38, were responding to domestic calls when each was shot in the line of duty.

GBI agents gathered evidence at the Jervis Court scene overnight and into Wednesday morning. It was the 88th officer-involved shooting the state agency has investigated this year.

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.