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Slain rookie officer always wanted to be a cop

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A rookie Clayton County police officer who was ambushed and shot after responding to a domestic dispute call has died.

Police said two officers responded to the call at a Motel 6 on Davidson Parkway in Stockbridge Monday afternoon.

Police said when officers tried to arrest the man and the woman involved, the male suspect fled and Officer Sean Callahan chased after him.

Police said the man ran around the building and began shooting at officers, and officers fired back, killing the gunman.

Callahan, 24, was shot twice in the head, investigators said. Tuesday morning, the Clayton County Police Department announced that Callahan died at 5:16 a.m.

"Please pray for the Callahan Family, the Clayton County Police Department Family, and the Clayton County community as we endure the loss of a fallen comrade," the Police Department said in a release.

An officer mourned

Authorities told Channel 2's Ryan Young the mood around the Police Department was extremely sorrowful on Tuesday. Callahan had been with the department for four months.

"It was devastating. The young man whose life was just getting started… it impacts the entire community," Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell said.

Officers folded up the flag that flew outside Clayton County police headquarters and passed it along to be draped over Callahan's casket.

"I met with his darling mother and held her hand last night and I know the pain she must be going through," Bell said.

A police escort led Callahan's body up Highway 41 to a Kennesaw funeral home on Tuesday afternoon. 

Callahan attended Lassiter High School in Cobb County where he often talked about being a police officer, friend Justin Baker told Channel 2's Ross Cavitt.

"He called me when they offered him the job and he was ecstatic. He was really happy to do what he wanted to do for a really long time," Baker said. "It wasn't easy. He had to take a couple different turns to get there but he did it. Really proud of him, and it makes today a lot harder."

Friends said Callahan wanted to be an officer so badly he paid his own way through the academy and rarely spoke of the dangers.

"From the time that we grew up as kids, he was always one of the most selfless people I've met and always put others before himself," Baker said.

A funeral is tentatively set for Friday morning.

Suspect ambushed officers

The woman charged in connection with the incident that sparked the shooting told the judge she is five-months pregnant in court Tuesday.

Lisa Ann Lebis is charged with obstruction of justice and battery on an officer. A judge denied her bond. The man she was fighting with has still not been identified.

Police told Young he started fighting with officers who responded to the domestic disturbance. The suspect ran behind the Motel 6 but encountered a 20-foot drop off, so he turned around and waited for the two officers and opened fire, authorities said.

"I heard about 15 to 20 gunshots. It was like two separate series of gunshots," witness Rayanne Smith said.

Callahan may have gotten one shot off at the suspect before he was hit, the second officer fired on the gunman, killing him.

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