SandyMaloneHall County, GA – A gunman who shot two people and seven vehicles in an active shooting spree on a Georgia highway on Friday left behind a manifesto praising Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz.
Rex Harbour, 26, terrorized drivers from his sniper’s perch beside Highway 365 before taking his own life as he fled from police, The Sun Sentinel reported.
Police found handwritten documents among Harbour’s belongings which praised Cruz as a “hero” who had given him “courage and confidence,” Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said, according to The Washington Post.
“The documents are hate-filled,” Sheriff Couch said.
The incident began late on Friday morning, as was documented by a hunter’s trail camera that captured pictures of Harbour walking through the woods and taking up his shooting position, WSB-TV reported.
Sheriff Couch said Harbour fired at vehicles on the roadway 17 times, using a 9mm handgun. His bullets struck seven cars and hit two people.
Police received the first 911 call from a woman who said her 54-year-old husband had been shot in the hip as they drove by, The Sun Sentinel reported. More calls followed immediately thereafter as Harbour continued to fire at vehicles, police said.
“Almost immediately, additional callers reported hearing gunshots and advised that other vehicles had been struck by bullets in the same vicinity. 911 callers also indicated a second adult male motorist had been hit by a bullet,” according to a press release by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.
A 73-year-old man was shot in the leg, and a woman was injured when a bullet shattered her windshield as she was driving.
Officers responded to the scene quickly, and spotted Harbour’s beige Buick pulling out of the woods and attempting to flee.
Hall County deputies and the Georgia State Police pursued the gunman, who put a pistol to his head and shot himself while fleeing, The Washington Post reported. Harbour’s car continued for some time before crashing into a median.
The shooting was captured on a dashcam, Sheriff Couch said.
Authorities said Harbour’s firing position beside the road was isolated and concealed, but a trail camera strapped to a tree, probably installed by a hunter, took photos of the shooter readying his position, The Washington Post reported.
Police recovered 17 shell casings at the scene. The gunman was wearing two holsters on his body, police said.
Investigators found three 9mm semiautomatic pistols, a .22-caliber bolt-action rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, and more than 3,400 rounds of ammunition in Harbour’s Buick, Sheriff Couch said.
Investigators were trying to learn the motivation behind the shooting, but Sheriff Couch speculated that he did it for notoriety.
“He had the weapons, he had the ammunition, and obviously he had the will to inflict a lot of pain and a lot of hate,” the sheriff said.
He said Harbour had no history of criminal or notable behavior.
Harbour’s mother described her son, who was a landscaper, as “mild-mannered and quiet,” The Washington Post reported.