ATLANTA — It's been one week since police have been looking for a suspect accused of killing a mother of four in Atlanta. And now, a chaotic turn of events Tuesday afternoon ended with an officer shot and that same murder suspect dead in Henry County, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum announced.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Derrick Rankins is accused of killing Courtney Reese, a 32-year-old mom whose family is still reeling from the tragedy.
Her family recently held a vigil to honor her memory. Here's more on her life and what has unfolded since then.
'She didn't deserve this'
Loved ones gathered Friday evening with balloons and candles as they remembered Reese.
"She was a vibe. She was the life of the party. She was everybody's hype man, everybody's cook. She loved to make party food," Lena said, Reese's sister.
Her infectious smile is keeping her grieving family's spirit high. But her family won't ever be able to fill that void.
Photos | Courtney Reese
"She didn't deserve this. Her kids will miss her. Her sisters, her brother, dad James and mom Shiba. We're all going to miss Coco," Lena added.
Her older sister said Reese was gone too soon.
"Her life was cut short, but the children still are here. They still have to be provided for," Lena said. "She was a great mother. We want them to have everything that we knew she was going to do for them."
Reese leaves behind four children: three girls, ages 13, 9 and 6, and an 11-year-old son.
Her last moments
The fatal moment happened Tuesday, Aug. 20. Atlanta Police officers responded to a shooting along Springside Drive, which runs parallel between Cleveland Avenue and Mt. Zion Road. Officers found Reese outside on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. APD said despite life-saving measures, Reese died from her injuries.
11Alive's Cody Alcorn obtained a 27-second video clip from a Ring camera security system, which apparently captured the deadly shooting. The video is too graphic to show, but you see a tall figure who appears to be dressed in all white, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, walking up to Reese, who is standing outside a home.
Reese can be heard in the video saying, "Please. I don't..." as she's pleading with the individual. The person fired at least 10 shots, even after Reese collapsed before the person ran out of frame down the driveway.
The search for the suspect has been ongoing since then but came to an apparent end on Aug. 27.
Finding the suspect
Warrants for Rankins were issued the day after the shooting, according to Schierbaum, who he said officers knew was very dangerous. The Southeastern Fugitive Task Force - led by U.S. Marshals -- went to a location in Henry County where they believed Rankins was present.
The task force is comprised of some APD officers and members of other law enforcement agencies.
"At that location Mr. Rankins opened fire on members of the fugitive task force," the APD chief said. "During that exchange of gunfire, a member of this department, an 18-year veteran, assigned to our fugitive unit was injured."
Schierbaum said the suspect is dead, but didn't go into further details about how he died. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.
Thaddeus Johnson is an assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology at GSU. He's also a law enforcement veteran, having served as a police officer in Memphis before entering academia. According to him, the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force specializes in complex warrant execution.
"They're probably not going to serve a warrant for jay walking," he said. "When they get involved either it's a very high risk warrant that they're serving or it's very complicated."
Reese's family mentioned before they believed the person behind her death was a man who she was previously involved with. The APD chief said Reese died in a domestic-violence motivated homicide. Her family had hoped police could catch the suspect before any other innocent victim's life was impacted.
Schierbaum said he was thankful that the officer who was hurt didn't have life-threating injuries.
"I thank God for having the hand of protection over our officers today," he said.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens released a statement Tuesday afternoon about the APD officer hurt in the line of duty.
“Please join me in keeping our APD Investigator in your prayers as he recovers from being shot in the line of duty while serving a warrant. I spoke with him briefly and thankfully his injuries were to the arm and are not life-threatening. While authorities are still gathering details, we do know that the suspect was wanted for murder in our city—a horrible act of domestic violence that took the life of a mother of four—and this man barricaded himself in the house, shot at law enforcement and had no business having a gun in the first place," Dickens said.
"Domestic violence is a national crisis, and we must all band together and say, ‘no more.’ Thank you to all our public safety officials who run toward danger each and every day and thank you to the professionals at Grady Hospital who give world-class care," the mayor added.
Reese's father, James Dupree, also issued a statement on the shooting.
“Honestly this was the best outcome because this guy was a danger to others well while on the run. I wish death upon no one but he deserves exactly what he got," he said.
A family in mourning
As Reese's family still mourns her death, they are also dealing with another heartbreak.
One of Reese's sisters was killed in a shooting just months ago in DeKalb County, family members said. DeKalb County Police said 29-year-old Sametria Edwards-McCord was shot in the 2000 block of Chestnut Hill Circle in Decatur on May 24.
She died from her injuries. A teen has been identified as a suspect in that incident. Family members said Reese's death and the fatal shooting of her sister were not connected.