‘By the grace of God, he missed:’ Neighbor describes moments gunman who killed 4 burst into his home

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Andre Longmore terrorized the Dogwood Lakes subdivision on Saturday, going home-to-home, killing four people.

In an exclusive interview, Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes spoke with a family who came face-to-face with the 40-year-old when he showed up inside their home too.

The Dogwood Lakes community is a subdivision where many people decided to buy homes because it is so quiet and out of the way.

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“I mean, this was the kind of neighborhood that you could leave your garage open and just feel comfortable cutting my lawn without worrying that the kids are in danger inside. I would’ve never thought this would happen,” a neighbor told Fernandes, asking not to be identified.

But on Saturday, it became the scene of a mass shooting.

Longmore stole the innocence of the subdivision when he went on a shooting rampage and killed four of his neighbors: Scott and Shirley Leavitt, Steve Blizzard, and Ronald Jeffers.

Now, one of their neighbors told Fernandes that they are feeling some survivor’s guilt after the gunman fired a shot at him but missed.

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“I knew I left the garage open, and I saw him heading there, and when I opened that door, and the gun came up in my face and he fired. And by the grace of God, he missed me,” the neighbor said.

That’s when he said Longmore held him at gunpoint.

“He was in my house for about three minutes because I saw the Ring when my daughter ran out the front door and then he took me through the kitchen at gunpoint, to the bedroom at gunpoint,” the neighbor said. “He asked for the keys to my car. I walked him to the bedroom and got it and I just dropped to the ground because I had no defense, and he must have not felt threatened and ran out the garage door. And I saw the lights blinking on my car and I just kept yelling ‘It’s the white KIA, just take it, just take the car. Please just go.’ And when everything stopped, and it got quiet, I thought he was going to run in angry because he wasn’t able to start it, so I grabbed my shotgun as quick as I could and filled it up.”

But thankfully, he never had to use it.

Channel 2 Action News was at a candlelight vigil Monday night that honored the four victims. It was a chance for the community to grieve together.

Now, the Dogwood Lakes community can begin the healing process.

“We’re at the point where we feel we need to get a little bit of help, support,” the neighbor said. “We can’t have a conversation between ourselves without breaking down.”

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