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Dave Martin / AP
Law enforcement officials use a body sensing device to search a home in Montgomery, Ala., Monday, June 11, 2012. Authorities searching for the man charged with fatally shooting three people near Auburn University swarmed the house Monday where they believe he's hiding, firing tear gas and sending a tactical team on cautious forays inside.
Updated at 5:30 a.m. ET: Authorities in Montgomery left a home early Tuesday where they believed the man charged with fatally shooting three people near Auburn University might have been hiding.
Law enforcement swarmed the scene Monday afternoon and spent hours firing tear gas, using thermal imaging and sending tactical teams on forays inside the house as they searched for Desmonte Leonard. They hadn't brought anyone out of the home by the time they held a briefing just after midnight.
And around 2:25 a.m. (3:25 a.m. ET) Tuesday, an Associated Press photographer on the scene saw all law enforcement agents that had been there leave without comment. It wasn't immediately clear why they left. There was no activity around the house.
Leonard is charged with three counts of capital murder in a shooting Saturday night during a pool party at University Heights apartments. He's also accused of wounding three others. The dead included two former Auburn football players.
Earlier the tactical team searched the lower portions of the house and made deliberate moves into the attic where Leonard was believed to be hiding, Montgomery Public Safety Director Chris Murphy told the AP. The attic is cramped, complicating investigators' efforts.
Montgomery Police Sgt. Regina Duckett said coughing and movement was heard inside.
"We are having to slowly put our people up there and do an inch-by-inch search," Murphy said during a briefing several hours after police surrounded the house.
Police had hoped to flush out the person with tear gas and verbal commands, but sent in the tactical team after getting no response.
"This is a pretty driven person. He's got nothing to lose," Murphy said. "You cannot rush it."
Murphy said investigators believe he's likely covered in insulation and suffering effects from the tear gas.
Dave Martin / AP
Police officers with automatic weapons stand outside a home in Montgomery, Ala. on Monday. They believe the man suspected in the Auburn shootings entered the home.
"He's got to be in a lot of pain," he said.
On Monday, police received two 911 calls that Leonard had entered the house but did not have "unequivocal confirmation," said Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange.
"Whoever is in there doesn't want to come out," Strange said.
'Massacre for no reason'
Police have arrested two men in connection with the shooting: Jeremy Thomas, 18, is being questioned for hindering prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and Gabriel Thomas, 41, was arrested late Sunday for allegedly providing false information to police.
Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said nine police agencies are involved in the search for Leonard.
The shooting occurred before midnight on Saturday at the University Heights apartments, a large complex near campus favored by Auburn University's students and athletes.
Leonard is suspected of pulling a gun after a fight broke out, shooting six, Dawson said at a news conference on Sunday. He apparently fled in a white Chevrolet Caprice, which he later ditched.
Todd J. Van Emst / Auburn University via AP file
Edward Christian, 20, left, an Auburn University student and former football player, was fatally shot at a pool party about two miles from the university on Saturday night. Eric Mack, 20, center, was treated and released; Ladarious Phillips, 20, a student and former offensive fullback for the football team, was also killed.
Montgomery police had previously arrested Leonard in 2008 for carrying a gun without a license, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
When police arrived at the scene, Edward Christian, 20, was found dead on the sidewalk. Christian was a student and former offensive lineman for the Auburn Tigers football team.
Ladarious Phillips and DeMario Pitts, both 20, were transported to the hospital, where they later died. Phillips was a student and former backup fullback who gave up football in April, according to his coach. Pitts lived in Auburn.
Three young men, including two students, were killed and three others wounded in a Saturday night shooting in Auburn, Ala. A manhunt was underway for the suspect. NBC's Mark Potter reports.
Turquorius Vines, who was at the party, told the Journal-Constitution the fight erupted because of a girl.
The night, he said, "went from us chilling with all these females to a massacre for no reason at all. It happened so quick, in about a second."
For Vines, the shooting has left him reeling.
"It's like I lost a lung," he said. "I don't know how I'm going to survive this."
Among the wounded, John Robertson, 20, remained in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head. Xavier Moss, 19, was released from the hospital after the shooting. Eric Mack, 20, an offensive lineman who was shot in the buttocks, was released late Sunday afternoon.
Mack is a junior offensive lineman from St. Matthews, S.C. He played in five games last season. Coach Gene Chizik said on Sunday that Mack was expected to make a full recovery.
Police Chief Tommy Dawson said he believed the shooting was "a fight that obviously got out of hand."
The shooting has shaken Auburn, a city of 53,000 that revolves around the football team. The Auburn Tigers have won two national championships, most recently in 2011 against the University of Oregon. Cam Newton, a quarterback, won the coveted Heisman Trophy that year.
The Associated Press and msnbc.com's Isolde Raftery, Mark Stevenson and Marian Smith contributed to this report.
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Here we go once again he had a gun before and the smack on the hands did nothing. Now look. All I say is I do not want to pay for 3 hots and cot for him for the rest of his life. He took a couple of lives and he is not crazy so you know what to do Dim the Lights
Humans are the only species that kill their own out of greed.
I have many black friends that I would do anything for, its not about a specific race. I do believe its the area where these kids come from, be it black or white that makes a person who they are. If I lived in a city and shootings, carrying a gun or knife, robbing and murders were common, it would be so easy to become one of them, black or white. The parents of these kids need to involved in every aspect of they're kids lives so they can grow up and make the right choices..
Shawn, no offense, but you certainly are making a lot of assumptions here. Except for the killer, from what I've heard, most of these young men are not from a city with shootings, nor are there parents uninvolved in their lives. They were just living their lives, having a little fun, on a Saturday night in a sleepy little college town where people don't even have to lock their front doors most of the time. And then in came some thug with a gun and something to prove. They could have been black or white or green. Their color doesn't matter... and now they are dead. Senseless.
Pretty bad when the FBI admits they searched the wrong house. Meanwhile he was across the street laughing like Hell. Maybe next time the FBI will do a little homework "BEFORE" they break a door down.
By the way, this killer does not deserve a trial, just a 7.62....!
I'm from Auburn, AL and have family that knew one of the victims. There was only ONE person that died that was even involved in the argument! (And it wasn't either of the football players!) They were merely bystanders! When an idiot pulls a gun at a party EVERYONE present is in the line of fire! So, just because the 2 young men that were football players that were killed senselessly were there doesn't mean any of you should accuse them of being "gang bangers" or "thugs"! They were decent young men that were at the wrong place at the wrong time! I hope all of you that have negative, horrible things to say about the victims don't have children of your own, because I can't even imagine what their parents and families are going through! This most definitely was a senseless act by stupid punk and innocent young men lost their lives! To their families, my thoughts and prayers are with you! To the young men that lost their lives, God Bless You and WAR EAGLE! May you play the sport you love forever on God's field! P.S. It's sad that in 2012 racism is still such a huge part of our culture. Doesn't matter your color...your actions are what sets you apart! Thank goodness I see no color...
I sent the e-mail below to Al Sharpton. Surprisingly, I have not gotten a response.
'crisis@nationalactionnetwork.net'
Al,
They need you in Alabama TODAY. There’s been black-on-black crime there, and the country needs you to make a great statement of condemnation. Hurry PLEEEEEEASE, Jesse and Barry are waiting for you to take the lead on this horrific event. Somehow, somehow, this needs to be a hate crime. Surely there is some video linking a white guy to this event. When they catch the shooter, you need to arrange for an entire busload of lawyers to represent the victim’s families (let them all take turns riding in the front please). If you dig deep enough, you will find a white person in the shooters family tree, then BAM, you have you angle.
This country needs you………………..
Wow, you really have no life. HAHAHA!
I'm sure ol' Al is gasing up his jet right now. :)
Have not heard yet if the UN is getting involved. They are actively Investigating the Travon Martin, Agenda driven incident reports, including filing historically unprecedented Lawsuits. The sitting International president of the USA, is on record saying that "If I had a son, he would "look like Travon Martin" endlessly pictured in news media across the nation, you know the 12 year old 'sweet' Travon, Not the 17 year old drug dealing Travon. This will be Agenda driven as well. First sign were the headlines. ....UNIVERSITY SHOOTING.
Of course this conjures up images of armed students all 'uncontrollably' firing 'guns' in classrooms. The anti-gun Agenda thrives on these incidents. Where in actuality they are overwhelmingly committed by Career Repeat Offenders. Career Repeat Offenders are the spawn of the 'Great Society War on Poverty' that produced 'Feral Families' in the place of Traditional Families. When CONTROL is the Goal, Nothing is to hamper the force fed information spewing from 'The Media'.
Here we go again. I intentionally click on these stories and read the comments. When I see a black person on the picture, I immediately know a swarm of uneducated trailer trash will crawl from underneath their rocks, slither to their computers, and spew their nonsense. I actually am entertained by it.
They are so uneducated that they do not understand how brainwashed they really are. We all know that crime happens in all communities. White, black, and hispanic. They know this too. I guess they've managed to convince themselves that they are "good" because they see a white or non-black face in the mirror. Its all media influence. Poverty affects everyone negatively. Its not an excuse to committ crime, but its simply a fact.
The real criminals here are the handful of educated and obscenely rich WHITE MEN who run this country. All those upstanding white men who damn near brought the country to its knees by gambling and greed. In my opinion those sociopaths are a bigger threat than a poverty-stricken, uneducated thug. Yet, the media shows you pictures of the boogie man to take the focus off of the true criminals.
Angry white men: If you want to protect your wives, daughters, sons, and you way of life, read closely. Realize that the media has created the idea of the minority scapegoat, and you are feeding right into it. You should take some of that anger and hatred and use your influence (complexion) to hold your white daddies accountable.
Minority scapegoat my ass. Statistics don't lie. And how can a politician be more of a threat to my physical well being than a "...poverty-stricken, uneducated thug..." (your words, not mine)?
Matt, how about you get a brain - go for the gusto and move up to a squirrel or even a cat- that flea brain is pretty tired. But, try to follow and I'll hold it down to not more than six letter words.
Now, we have crime in this country, and drugs and stupid killing. And whle blacks are less than 15 percent of the population, they are the vast majority in jails. Why? - try looking at MTV, BET and the other mass media outlets - they glorify the black thug image. No one wants a show where the black guy goes out and works all day, comes home to his wife and family, teaches them right and wrong. But stereotypes become stereotypes because they FIT in most cases - you don't get jokes about the smart blonde, the courteous New Yorker or the generous Jew - but that must be just prejudice, right? We have a culture that teaches blacks that they have been robbed, that it has to be someone else's fault, and that someone "owes" them. So they believe and act on it. Go back to the fourties to the Tuskeegee Airmen, or the fifties to the freedom riders - they wanted something so bad they would fight and die for it - but they weren't killing each other and doing drugs, they were going for what they wanted to work for! Show me that today - or else admit that the welfare based, entitlement mentality has created a generation who only know how to scream for respect, rather than earn it.
Sorry about breaking my promise to hold it down to six letters - the human brain has trouble speaking flea - did you manage to follow?
Black on black crime? Impossible !!!
(sarcasm)
My heart goes out to the family victims and their friends. What I would like to see on NATIONAL TV (BET, MTV, MTV2, OWN, THE VIEW and CNN) each will have a special program 2 parts. It could be 1 week and then the following week the other part of the Special program. to discuss how can African-Americans can avoid the continuing situations (Blacks killing Blacks). Do you remember in the 1900's so many African-Americans fight to have the right to vote, to go to college, to the someone in society and now the ones that have all the opportunity (scholarships, Student Financial Aid, etc.) are doing nothing. Life is hard but not impossible to live. Where is Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Oprah Winphey, Whoopy Goldberg, and ALL those famous African-American actors, singers, politicians, educators NN College, business types and medical career people. The medical people could explain what a bullet does to the body of an innocent person? Prison officials show how life is really about, what they can do and what they can NOT do. Show Parents of people that are in jail and for what. Many people do not take advantage of the good that this country offers and other foreigners are really taken advantage of this country and going back to their native country. Why can you? Stopped blaming others, get out of the sofa and start moving to a positive environment. It takes time but you will make it.