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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.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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At least it wasn't a hate crime. Those things really tear the country apart.
r u kidding me? look at the f'ed up names for these guys....ladarious, DeMario, Turquorius....What a bunch of horse@!$%#...do you expect these guys already labeled with thug, BS, NWA to be anything but inmates. Their parents are the first in line for failure of their sons. naming your kids some uniquie, made up name is ni**er hopeful identity prayer. Get real .......
Hey man, LUDACRIS turned out just fine!!
if they were white though they'd snatch them right up though huhhh and sell to the higest bidder
What the hell does that even mean? And you should try not to miss any more English lessons. You have a LOT of catching up to do.
Man this sucks, one minute you're on top of the world listening to Jay Z smoking a big phatty, drinking some ol' english, pickin up 20 year old chicks that dont know where their kids are, fightin' with want to be gangstas all tatted up and then <BAMN> out of nowhere you get shot. What a fu.c.kin surprise!!! I go to parties like this all of the time and nothin ever happens....
you must not be trying to @!$%# some one elses old lady couse of who you are and feel im bigger and stronger gona take // why dont you try that next time . dont forget to tell every one you play football then they'll be required to give it up
That really is a shame these guys lost their lives for nothing. It makes no sense to me that this happened. Where is the outrage from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton??? Oh wait a minute - it was a black guy that shot them. They wouldn't care or speak up unless it was a white guy that shot them. My mistake. Still pretty sad.
One guy in AL. shooting women and kids, and then another one comes to GA. to shoot men over a girl. Al. don't have enough women or too many. Can't tell
WONDERFUL! 2 less monkeys to rape, rob and defraud the welfare system. Just think how many little apes will never be born now that these two porch monkey are unable to reproduce.
With stuff like this occuring on a regular basis in addition to the article about the murders in Chicago over the weekend, is it any wonder why whites are becoming jaded towards black people and their gangsta culture and attitudes?
There is a difference between being racist and prejudice. Racist has to do with skin color, whereas prejudice stems from perceiving the actions, attitude and demeanor of others. So, is it any wonder why whites are becoming more and more prejudice against blacks and hispanics?
But most whites are too afraid to admit it because minorities will throw it up in our faces and call us "racists". It's like if someone spits on you, then you slap them and they accuse you of being a violent person. Personally, I think this country would be much better off without the black and hispanic cultures overrunning our cities and influencing white children with their gangster rap, ebonics and entitlement mentality.
i thought racism specificaly based on who you will @!$%# . predgudice based son predetermination as to wheather you like or not based solly on skin coler // racist who cares get over it their'll be others if they're not here and oh guess what THERE IS
Hey rob roy, before you try to retort to one of my posts again, I'd suggest you learn how to speak and spell properly and how to form a coherent thought. Maybe you should go back and get your high school diploma. Oh, nevermind.......high school graduates today are as ignorant as they come thanks to our liberal, dumbed down education system.
Hey edub-bub, they tried your theory years ago, it's called Jim Crow, but as you know he had a croke and died. Your views are old, out dated and to tell you the truth we are tired of hearing it. Now get somewhere and sit down you coward!
Just can't handle the truth, huh Thnker? I view reality for what it is, and reality is never outdated.
Exactly what "theory" are you referring to anyhow? I just think you don't like the hard truth that blacks are a violent culture in general and are responsible for the majority of violent crime in this country. Unlike you, I am not afraid to see life for what it is and am not afraid to admit the truth. Now, go sit in the back of the bus where you belong. Oh, I'm sorry.......is that offensive? Too bad, your president told Repbublicans to do the same thing. Punk.
Every time there is a story like this, or one about Chicago gangland murders, Remmingtons stock goes up.
How very sad. My prayers and thoughts go out to all the families - both to the relatives and college family. Catch the last one who did this, quickly. Everyone look for him and bring him to justice.
thugs once again do severe damage......kill the thugs.....don't hide them....exterminate them all... once and for all
It is amazing to me how racist white people are, case in point, do you ever complain about hispanics naming their children Jesus, Xavier, Juan, or Muslims naming their kids, Ali, Nesam, Harak, or Indians naming their kids Yellow Crow, or Wild Eagle? So why all the static about blacks naming their kids Akeem or Torquoise? Who wants a boring over-used name like Mary or Elizabeth or Rachel? Everyone should feel free to name their children whatever they want without undo criticism for it. It shows how narrow minded whites are: anything different from them is a problem. Address the issue at hand, big burley football players getting out of hand with the wrong dude. They thought they could pick on the little guy but he had an equalizer with him. It's call a nine mm semi-automatic. Same as what a hunter would do if attacked by a bear or a group of bears!
Hay James, Forget the name bull. This POS took out three potentially upstanding, educated and driven people. Race don't fit here, except the fact that the gun man was a full blown loser. You think it's OK to do a brother who is doing better than you, just cause you gotta gun? I took lumps back in the days when you pissed someone off you beat each other until someone "won". No one died, we shook hands, OK maybe a bit later but no one died. Get real dude. Guns are some unachievers way of making themselves feel important whenh in fact they are losers.
I have no problem with the Spanish, or Muslim names you mention because those names have been used for generations. The black names cause static because they sound stupid and it seems like the parent, (singular not plural), gets a scrabble game, grabs 15 letters and makes something up. Akeem is a good African name.
It also seems like those with made up names get in the most trouble, probably because of the grief they got growing up.
By the way, I think it was self defense, and did you notice.
Zazing
Did you know about the part where the shooter was hit with a bottle over the head? That can be lethal. Self defence.
@James --- Would love to see you go bear hunting with a "9mm semi-atuomatic" because that's the last studpid thing you would say or do. What a refreshing change.
To those saying they hope Leonard gets 20-25 years, please remember he is charged with 3 capital murders and therefore, if death is sought by prosecutors and if he is convicted, he will most likely get the death penalty. The capital murder was added because more than one person was shot and killed during the course of a single event. It could even fall under possession of a firearm by a convicted felon or the murder of someone "inside of their dwelling." (inside of a complex may count as a dwelling).
It was self defence.
It wasn't self defense. You have no idea what you're talking about.
Three men lost their lives to this POS. They were doing there best to improve their lives. This ghetto POS took three lives because he had a gun. And he hurt three others. When you are the wimp, like he is a low life POS that can always get a gun. These three upstanding and probably "gentile giants" died becuase some POS got his hands on an illegal weapon. It took a gun to make this POS feel like he was someone important, which he is not. He is a POS, those he hurt and killed deserved so much better. It's not the gun laws, he would have never got a legal weapon. He should never have had a gun. Without a gun my grandaughter could have taken this POS with a leg kick. He is not a man. He is an animal and deservers to be treated as such. Just put him down. I feel for the families involved. In my mind, these guys were great kids. Find the POS and put him in mainstream prison, without a gun he will not last a week.
By improve their lives, do you mean sucker punching one of the shooters or hitting them with a bottle? For the bystanders it's too bad they hung out with the wrong crowd
I admit I don't know the whole story. Three college kids with "no Guns" one or two losers "with guns". No brainer there dude. You ever hear of trying to defend youself? No guns is no match for with guns. Please take a knife to a gun fight, you just might learn something.
I paraphrase here, but Vines statement was that there was an argument, he(Vines) threw a punch and his dead buddy hit the two shooters with a bottle. Sounds like two guys trying to live the thug life vs. two that were keeping it real.....and two guys that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time getting the short end of the stick. Poor choices all around. This is why your parents are concerned about their kids hanging with the wrong crowd
Mr. Jefferson I just don't understand the "why" of guns. I have guns but they are locked up. In the past we always settled one on one or two on two or three on three. No guns, no knives. If we got our asses kicked or vice versa that was OK but no one died. I'm pushing 60 years old and I know I can kick the @!$%# out of most of these punks walking the street nowadays, unless they pull a gun. No self pride left anymore. Killing someone to avoid the next day of pain and learning is crap. The POS deserves to be mainstreamed in prison, he will not last a week without his lil gun.
What good is a locked up gun? You ask the "why" of guns, I carry every day because of thugs like these. They live the "thug life"...."gotta represent"....can't get "dissed". Poor upbringing and poor decision making. Too bad or anyone making the poor decision to hang out with with thug wannabees. Times change, time to dust off your guns. I carry a gun because a cop is too heavy
They were at a party sponsored by the apartment complex. There were fifty to sixty people there. Chances are they didn't even know the shooter. I'd hardly call that "hanging with the wrong crowd".
Just because you are in college or attend a university doesn't mean that you are trying to better yourself. In fact, in the US, within 6 year many colleges only graduate 46% of the people who started! I can assure you this "punk" didn't just go in shooting for no reason, kind of like the kid in Ohio who shot and killed 4 of his classmates that his peers said bullied him.... god forbid the bullied take a stand and eliminate the problem after repeated requests from administrators and teachers who do nothing. I sympathize with all here but do not condemn until you have the full story. I have seen fraternities particularly Omegas at schools who conduct themselves like thugs and get into numerous brawls that they create. I am sure these "upstanding" young men probably provoked the fight just by virtue of their size. Think how often this story repeats itself ... over and over every year some football players are killed when fighting because the smaller guys get an equalizer. Remember the story of David and Goliath, David had an equalizer for the big goon@!
Then why were they there in the first place? Losers in a campus setting? With Guns???
Ummmmmm...........to get laid? The fight was over a girl.
Zazing, first thing, the incident DID NOT happen on campus. It was off campus. Another thing, the guys with the guns came from Montgomery which is an hour away from Auburn. They were out looking for trouble.
Shaking I agree, I read the story. Back in the day when T-rex still walked the planet, my apartment was five minutes from campus. I still considered it "campus" since all that lived there were students, my fault.
It's a terrible loss of life and futures for these individuals and their families. Had they been home studying for their calculus finals the next day this probably would have never happened.
Finals were in over a month ago.
In my day, guys used their fists. If someone got ugly and used a bottle, he'd be taken down by the majority for fighting dirty - but he'd be left very much alive. Wish the youth of today would wake up and stop hurting and killing one another.
Choices, decisions, consequences!! Live by it!!
You think the NAACP will raise hell for some of there own killing some of their own
Chis Rock......listen up to what he says. Far as i can tell, he nails it. Perpetual underclass breeds the same.
Kind of like the Zimmerman case all over again except one thing the NAACP hasn't gotten involued with who they want put on trail and somewhere there must be a racist action involued somewhere , someplace, about something. OMG let the blacks mouth about this one.
@M. Cain --- Auburn football players taking calculus --- LMAO-ROTF. That's the funniest sh-t I've ever read.
NCVet, you are an idiot. You couldn't even get into Auburn. You know nothing about the school. Before you open your ignorant mouth try doing some research.
College football players at ANY school taking Calculus is a real knee slapper! There are no college football players. Anywhere. They are all hired thugs who bear no resemblance whatsoever to real college students. And that will never change because there is way too much money to be made by winning and you can't win with nerdy Engineers and Computer Science students!
Darkies, what?
Why isn't Jessie and Al going to form a protest march?
stupid ni99ers he should have killed them all then killed himself
Getting a bit too racist here. We all know black on black crime is off the "hook" but these fine gentlemen drove to pull it off, they didn't walk down the street. Women or not, no need to kill. Find him and burn him. I'm out. Love you all!