Police ID woman killed in SE Atlanta shooting after suspect’s death
At an impromptu news conference Tuesday, Atlanta police identified a woman killed in an Aug. 20 shooting and announced that her suspected killer had died in a standoff with law enforcement.
Police identified Courtney Reese, 38, as the woman shot and killed in southeast Atlanta last week. Officers were called around 9 p.m. to an area near the intersection of Springside and Macon drives in the Glenrose Heights neighborhood. The location is just south of Cleveland Avenue and east of I-75.
When they arrived, they found a Reese with apparent gunshot wounds. Officers tried to save her, but she did not survive.
Reese’s suspected killer, 33-year-old Derrick Rankins, died during a standoff with a fugitive task force in Stockbridge, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at Tuesday’s news conference. Rankins shot at the task force attempting to arrest him and hit an APD investigator in the left arm, according to Schierbaum. Rankins then barricaded himself inside the Henry County home for about two hours.
Officials did not say how Rankins died. The officer is expected to make a full recovery, Schierbaum said.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
About the Authors
Rosana Hughes is an award-winning bilingual (fluent in Spanish) journalist with a passion for explanatory public service journalism. She has been a reporter on the breaking news team since January 2022.
Henri Hollis is a restaurant critic and food reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he covers Atlanta’s restaurants, chefs and dining culture. As part of the AJC’s Food & Dining team, he reviews new restaurants, reports on industry trends and explores metro Atlanta’s culinary scene through the neighborhoods and people that shape it.
