The suspect in the fatal shooting of two south Georgia police officers shot and killed himself Thursday as heavily armed officers surrounded a house in Americus, Ga., where he was holed up.
Police heard a single gunshot inside the house and tried for more than an hour to make contact with the suspect, 32-year-old Minquell Lembrick. Police eventually used a robot to open the door of the residence and found Lembrick dead of what authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lembrick was the subject of a massive manhunt after he allegedly shot and killed an Americus, Ga., police officer, Nicholas Smarr, 25, and critically wounded Georgia Southwestern State University officer Jody Smith, who were responding to a report of domestic violence Wednesday morning. Smith died Thursday afternoon.
The two officers were grade school friends who had attended the police training academy together.
Following Wednesday’s shooting, Lembrick made a series of posts to what appears to have been his Facebook page, including a four-second video that indicated he did not expect to be taken alive: “I’m gonna miss y’all folk, man.” The post was later taken down.
Vernon Keenan, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, described Lembrick as a “career criminal.”
He said Lembrick’s death means the community can move forward with healing after the shooting of the two officers. “It is over with,” he said. “The perpetrator is not here.”
The tip that led to Lembrick’s hideout came from a local resident who reached out to Chief Deputy Col. Eric Bryant, of the Americus police department. A $70,000 reward had been offered for information on Lembrick’s whereabouts.
Bryant told reporters in the small Georgia town 130 miles south of Atlanta that the informant was at the house when Lembrick arrived.
“The caller actually knew the gentleman and was there when he came to the house,” Bryant said.
The tipster was also aware that Lembrick was being sought by police.
“He wanted to get away and contact law enforcement as quickly as he could,” Bryant said.
Contributing: WXIA-TV, Atlanta
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/08/reward-raised-50k-hunt-ga-cop-killer-suspect/95135614/
Mr, Lembrick wins and the pigs lose, 2 to 1.
“The two officers were grade school friends who had attended the police training academy together.”
How sweet. And now the criminal psychopaths can rot in hell together.
LOL
Hope that snitch gets screwed over on his 70k award
They usually do
Than he too will possibly get an education of who’s side he was on