Authorities have released the name of the man who was killed in a shooting in Cornelia early Tuesday morning. Habersham County Coroner Kasey McEntire identifies the victim as 32-year old Jesse Robert Looney of Demorest. Looney was one of two men shot at the home of suspect Tommy Savage.
In a press release issued late Tuesday McEntire said, “Further details are unavailable at this time and are forthcoming pending autopsy and investigation by the Habersham County Coroner’s Office, Habersham County Sheriff’s Department, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.” He added, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of this morning’s tragic event.”
READ: Second Garrison Road Shooting Victim Identified
Suspect a ‘survivalist’ with family history of run-ins with the law
The 56-year old Savage, eluded authorities for more than six hours before his arrest. Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell says he was apprehended inside his home at 1722 Garrison Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 19 without incident.
Savage was being sought in connection with the early morning domestic shooting that left Looney dead and another man injured.
Terrell says Savage is known to authorities as a ‘survivalist’ who stays armed and stocked with ammunition. His daughter Celia was arrested in Habersham County in May 2012 for making and possessing pipe bombs.
Savage himself was arrested in Habersham County in April 2011 on reckless driving and DUI charges.
Savage surrenders to bomb robot
Terrell says Tuesday’s incident began around 2 a.m. when officers responded to a call about a domestic dispute at Savage’s home. When officers arrived he says they were told everything was fine and the officers left. They were called back to the scene two hours later.
“About 4 a.m. there was a call from a neighbor’s house that someone had been shot and possibly someone was deceased.” At that point officers returned to the scene along with first responders. They found one man dead and transported an uninjured female and a male with a gunshot wound to his arm, to the hospital. Terrell says both were treated and released and taken to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning by the GBI.
At one point Savage was believed to be hiding in the woods behind his house. Officers set up a perimeter between Garner and Pea Ridge Roads. K-9 units were deployed and a Georgia State Patrol chopper with a heat sensing device was used to determine if there were any bodies outside the house.
Sheriff Terrell says the GSP SWAT team was called in because of Savage’s known history with firearms. “Every time we’ve dealt with this individual,” Terrell says, “we know that he totes a .45 on his hip, he has a shotgun and he has a AR-15. And he has lots of ammo. He’s bragged about having lots of ammo.”
Because of the previous pipe bomb incident involving Savage’s daughter, the GBI bomb squad responded to the scene. Terrell says while they were clearing the house with a bomb robot, Savage surrendered. “He actually surrendered to the bomb robot so the officers didn’t have to confront him face to face, which is an awesome thing,” Terrell says.
Savage, who was uninjured, was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to Habersham Medical Center for evaluation then taken to the Habersham County Detention Center. The GBI is investigating the shooting. Charges are pending.
Level Grove Elementary and South Habersham Middle Schools were placed on soft lockdown while the manhunt was underway. Superintendent of Schools Matthew Cooper says authorities kept him informed and the students were never in any danger. The scene of the shooting and search was several miles from those schools. Students were kept inside and a Habersham County deputy was posted outside each of the schools at Cooper’s request “just as a precaution.”
