Updated at 10:54 p.m. ET: The man suspected of killing three people, including two former Auburn University football players, during a party Saturday night turned himself in Tuesday at a federal courthouse in Montgomery, Ala.

Ho / AFP - Getty Images

Desmonte Leonard, 22, suspected in the shooting deaths of three people at a party Saturday night, turned himself into the federal courthouse on Tuesday evening.

Desmonte Leonard, 22, is suspected of shooting six people; he has been charged with three counts of capital murder.

Leonard arrived at the U.S. federal courthouse just before 8 p.m., walked through the courthouse doors and surrendered to U.S. Marshal Art Baylor, previously the Montgomery Police chief. 

He is being held at Montgomery County jail.

He is being represented by Susan James, a defense lawyer in Montgomery, Ala., according to WSFA.com. She contacted U.S. Marshals to discuss the terms of her client’s surrender.

“I think he was just tired,” James told WSFA. “He wanted somebody to tell him what to do.”

She said the story of what happened Saturday night may be different than what most expect.  

"I wanted to make sure they could get him into custody without someone trying to take him out," she said.

Read the story at WSFA.com

Saturday through Tuesday, police homed in on Montgomery, where Leonard lives. On Monday, they surrounded a house where they believed he was and piped in tear gas. Police said they heard coughing but ultimately did not find Leonard.

Police leave home after search for Auburn shootings suspect

Police did arrest two other men: Jeremy Thomas, 18, was questioned for hindering prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, and Gabriel Thomas, 41, was arrested late Sunday for allegedly providing false information to police.

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 apparently fled in a white Chevrolet Caprice, which he later ditched.

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.

Police Chief Tommy Dawson said at a news conference on Sunday that 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, Mark Stevenson and Marian Smith contributed to this report.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• White student returns college scholarship meant for blacks
• McQueary testifies 'no doubt' he saw Sandusky having sex with boy
• Miami face-eating attack victim awake and talking, doctors say
• Border Patrol agents accused of sex act at Cirque du Soleil
• Video: Man with no hands banned from roller coaster

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Authorities in Montgomery, Ala., on Tuesday defended their hunt for Desmonte Leonard, the man charged with fatally shooting three people at a party near Auburn University, NBC station WSFA in Auburn reported.

"We have not rested, we will not rest," Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said at a news conference Tuesday. "If he's out there watching today, I implore him, this has gone on long enough."

On Monday and early Tuesday, police searched a house in Montgomery, using thermal imaging to see if anyone was in the attic. Police said they thought they heard someone coughing, but nothing was found, WSFA reported.

Dawson said authorities received a tip from someone who said they dropped Leonard off at the home, and then received a 911 call indicating that he was inside. He said the tips were independent from each other. 

Montgomery Police Chief Kevin Murphy told reporters that "whoever dropped him off knew they were a suspect and were aiding him." That person could possibly face charges Murphy said, WSFA reported. 

Dawson said that an earlier Reuters report that authorities searched the wrong house is false.

At the press conference, Dawson said police are still at the home. He reiterated that he believes the suspect is still in Montgomery, WSFA reported.  

He said that he spoke with Leonard's mother and that she told him if he contacted her she would alert the police. Dawson said that she is urging her son to turn himself in, WSFA reported.

Authorities noted that Leonard's face and name have been all over the news media since Saturday. 

 "Doesn't matter where he's at," Dawson told reporters. "We've got the FBI on this case and U.S. marshals." 

A reward for his capture is up to $30,000, thanks to commitments from Auburn University and the city of Montgomery, WSFA reported. 

"We're going to apprehend him sooner or later," Dawson said. "I implore him to turn himself in."

Leonard is charged with three counts of murder in a shooting during a pool party at the University Heights apartments Saturday in Auburn. He's accused of pulling out a gun after a fight broke out. Two of those killed were former Auburn football players. In addition, he's accused of wounding three others, one of whom is in critical condition with a head wound. The others have been released from the hospital. 

Dawson said he believes the fight was about a girl. 

Two men have been arrested in connection with the shooting. Gabriel Thomas, 41, was arrested Sunday and accused of giving false information to police, and Jeremy Thomas, 18, is accused of hindering prosecution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Two of those killed, Edward Christian, 20, and Ladarious Phillips, 20, were students and former football players for the  Auburn Tigers. Christian played offensive lineman and Phillips was a backup fullback who gave up football in April, according to a coach. 

Also killed was DeMario Pitts, 20. 

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Alleged victim 1 emotionally describes abuse by Sandusky
• Border Patrol agents accused of sex act at Cirque du Soleil
• Coast Guard believes NJ yacht explosion was 'hoax'
• Video: Man with no hands banned from roller coaster
• Graphic video shows woman set on fire

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook