Three people were killed and two others injured after a man went on a shooting spree Sunday afternoon in Rockdale County, according to police.
The gunman, Jeffrey Scott Pitts, was then shot and killed by deputies after he shot his parents in their Conyers-area home, the Rockdale Sheriff’s Office said late Sunday.
It began when Pitts, 36, had an altercation with an employee of the Magnet Package store on Bell Road, off Ga. 20 in south Rockdale County, the sheriff’s office said. About 4:50 p.m., Pitts returned to the store and fired shots, hitting both a clerk and a customer. The two men, whose names were not released, both died from their injuries, police said.
Video from inside the store, released by police late Sunday, showed Pitts walk into the store and immediately start shooting at both people behind the counter and customers.
From the store, Pitts drove about five miles to his home on Ebenezer Road, where he shot both of his parents, according to police. Both were in stable condition after being flown to an Atlanta hospital.
When deputies arrived at the home, Pitts fired at them with an assault rifle, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies returned fire, fatally shooting Pitts.
"While the RCSO is thankful that no deputies were injured in the shooting, we are also extremely saddened by this tragic loss of life," the sheriff's office said on its Facebook page. "We would like to send our heartfelt condolences to all of those affected by today's events."
The deputies involved in the shooting at the Ebenezer Road home have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the GBI.
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