Authorities say homemade explosive device recovered from dead man’s pocket
Authorities have released the name of the man wounded in a deadly double shooting on Garrison Road Tuesday morning.
Habersham County Sheriff’s Lt. Floyd Canup says 26-year old Brandon Stephens was shot along with 33-year old Jesse Robert Looney of Demorest. Stephens was shot in the arm. Looney was found dead at the scene.
In a press release issued late Tuesday, Canup says officers were dispatched to the scene around 3:50 a.m. on April 19 after Habersham 911 received a call about a shooting at 1718 Garrison Road in Alto. “Deputies responded to the caller’s location on Garrison Road to learn that another male was shot during the incident,” he explains. “The victim reported their friend was shot and believed dead at Savages’ residence.”
The shooting suspect, 56-year old Tommy Savage, was arrested without incident some six hours later inside his home.
Details of what lead to the shooting have not been released but in an interview immediately following Savage’s arrest, Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell said officers had responded to a call about a domestic disturbance at Savage’s residence two hours before the shooting. When they arrived they were told everything was fine and left the scene. Lt. Canup identifies a woman who was with Looney and Stephens as 37-year old Amanda Jill Callahan. Terrell said she was not injured in the incident.
Lt. Canup says a Mossberg shotgun was recovered at the scene and determined to be the weapon used in the shooting. He adds, “A homemade explosive device was recovered from the deceased person’s pocket and was disposed of by the GBI Bomb Unit.”
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Savage is being held at the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office on one count of murder, one count of felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault.
Terrell described Savage as a ‘survivalist’. His daughter Celia was arrested for making and possessing pipe bombs several years ago. Authorities say she had no involvement in or connection to Tuesday’s incident.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was asked to investigate the shooting, and the investigation is currently ongoing.
