5 dead in suburban Atlanta shooting

Neighbors say the suspect shot his ex-wife and several children as they tried to escape a home in Douglasville, Georgia. Five people, including the gunman and a 7-year-old, were killed. VPCFive people, including three children, were killed Feb. 7, 2015, in and around this house in Douglasville, Ga.(Photo: Duffie Dixon, WXIA-TV, Atlanta)DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — A man shot six people, including his ex-wife, before turning the gun on himself, authorities said Saturday.In all five people are dead, including three children. Two other children are injured, said Lt. Glenn Daniel of the Douglas County Sheriff's Department."It tears at your heart. It doesn't make any sense," he said. "I've been in law enforcement out here 20 years, and this is the worst I've ever seen."Horrified neighbors called 911 and tended to the severely injured victims in this suburb about 20 miles west of Atlanta as best they could before rescuers arrived.The shooter, whose name was not immediately released, appeared to have targeted his ex-wife and his own family, including several children who tried to flee. Daniel said he did not immediately know when the couple divorced or whether the family had prior contact with police.The family had five children, who had been living there about three years, neighbors said. Their mother and her boyfriend lived with them there.The property was last sold in 2001, according to Douglas County tax records.The victims were found both inside and outside of a house when police were called to the scene around 3 p.m. ET, Daniel said.Some of the victims died on the way to the hospital. The shooter, who also was transported to a local hospital, died later of his self-inflicted injuries.Teresa Carter, 59, said she heard the gunfire from inside her home but did not see what happened. The children often played in their driveway and around the neighborhood.They enjoyed petting her dog."I heard shots, and I heard the girl scream," Carter said. "And then I heard four more shots."Brandon Hallman was working on a car a few houses down when the shooting started."I heard a couple quick shots, you know, back to back to back. Went out there and, you know, looked and it was already over," Hallman said. "We just grabbed some towels and kind of went down there to try and help before the paramedics got here."Authorities are still working to identify the victims and confirm their relationships, Daniel said. They have not released their names because next of kin have not yet been notified."Inside the home I could see the wife was on the floor and a man was still moving," neighbor Andrews Ansah said.His wife, Angela Ansah, struggled to explain to her own children what happened to their slain friends a few houses down. Ansah said some of the children targeted Saturday often came over to her house to play with her own children."These are children I see every day, every blessed day," Ansah said.Investigators obtained a warrant to enter the home, now surrounded by crime scene tape, so they could take and exam evidence from the crime scene. A definite motive in the shootings was not immediately clear.The shooter parked his car up the hill away from the home, walked to it and started shooting, they said. The car later was towed away as a piece of evidence."It's still too early," Daniel said. "We're on the scene and maybe we'll get some answers."Contributing: The Associated Press