Suspect Identified in Georgia Shootings That Killed 4

Daylon Delon Gamble. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation via AP)

ROCKMART, Ga.—Authorities in Georgia are on the lookout for a gunman they say killed four people and wounded a man in a pair of shootings.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation tweeted early Friday that 27-year-old Daylon Delon Gamble is armed and dangerous and wanted on four charges of murder for the shootings Thursday night in Rockmart, about 45 miles northwest of Atlanta.

A GBI news release said 48-year-old Helen Rose Mitchell and 19-year-old Jaequnn Davis died at one home, and 24-year-old Arkeyla Perry and 26-year-old Dadrian Cummings died at another home several blocks away.

The GBI says 24-year-old Peerless Brown was injured at the home where Mitchell and Davis were killed. He was flown to an Atlanta hospital. His condition was unknown.

State police say Gamble fled in a stolen truck that has since been recovered.

Gunman Kills 3 Men in Separate Shootings, Then Kills Himself

State College Police respond to a shooting at P.J. Harrigan’s Bar & Grill at the Ramada Inn, in State College, Pa., on Jan. 24, 2019. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times via AP)

A gunman opened fire at a hotel bar near Penn State’s main campus, killing two men and wounding a woman, broke into a stranger’s house and fatally shot the 83-year-old homeowner, and then killed himself, authorities said.

The initial shooting happened just after 10 p.m. Thursday at P.J. Harrigan’s Bar & Grill in State College, about 2 miles from Penn State’s campus.

State College Police Chief John Gardner said Friday afternoon they are still trying to determine why Jordan Witmer, 21, of Bellefonte, opened fire inside the bar, shooting two men he apparently didn’t know, and Nicole Abrino, with whom he had an unspecified connection.

Dean Beachy, 62, of Millersburg, Ohio, died at the scene, and Beachy’s 19-year-old son Steven Beachy died at a hospital Friday afternoon. Abrino was shot in the chest and remains at a Pittsburgh hospital. Gardner said he didn’t know her condition.

Witmer then fled the bar, crashed his vehicle and broke into a home by shooting out a sliding glass door, Gardner said. Inside, he fatally shot homeowner George McCormick, 83, before turning the gun on himself. McCormick’s distraught 80-year-old wife barricaded herself in a room and called 911.

There was no relationship between Witmer and McCormick, and officials believe he chose the home at random, Gardner said.

There was never any threat to Penn State or its students, he said.

They are still gathering information about the shooter, whom he described as being in the military.

Family members told WNEP-TV that Dean Beachy was an auctioneer and that he and his son were in State College for a horse auction.

Murders and Violent crimes

The number of murders and violent crimes committed in the United States dropped slightly in 2017, according to new crime statistics released in September 2018.

“Crime declined nationwide last year, consistent with our earlier analyses of 2017 data in the nation’s 30 largest cities,” Ames Grawert, senior counsel for the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, told the Washington Times.

“That’s the good news. The bad news is that even while crime is falling, the number of Americans incarcerated remains near-record highs. Now is the time to address the problem.”

The number of cases of manslaughter and murder dropped 0.7 percent in 2017 from the prior year, the report said.

Rapes rose by 3 percent and aggravated assault rose by 1 percent, but overall violent crimes dropped 0.2 percent, the report added.