Police: Man shot ex, children after fight over money

WXIA-TV, Atlanta | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Money may have motivated Georgia murder-suicide Authorities may have found a motive in the murder-suicide that left five people dead and two others injured in Douglasville, Georgia.

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Investigators say the Georgia shooting that ended five lives and critically injured two others started with a fight over taxes and child support.

On Saturday, 33-year-old Cedric G. Prather Jr. parked his car away from the suburban Atlanta home, walked to it and started shooting.

He fatally shot his ex-wife, Latoya A. Andrews, 33, her boyfriend, Joseph Terry Brown, 33, and two children, police said. Two other children were injured.

Prather died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was found shot outside the home. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Prather didn't leave a note, said Capt. Bruce Ferguson of the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Police said Andrews and Prather fought over taxes and child support costs in the weeks leading up to the shooting. There were text messages and arguments over the phone, Ferguson said.

"I can't tell you why he did it," said Ferguson. "All I can do is say he snapped, or he'd had enough."

The two children killed were Andrews' and Prather's: a 7-year-old daughter, London, and 9-year-old son, Jerimiah. London died at the scene; Jerimiah was taken to a hospital and later died.

Two juveniles — Andrews' 15-year-old daughter Demesha Owens and Brown's 8-year-old daughter Jada Brown — are being treated at the hospital. They are in critical but stable condition.

The victims were found both inside and outside the house when police arrived after 3 p.m. Saturday.

Ferguson said Andrews and Prather had been married for about 11 years and divorced for about five years.

A third child of Andrews and Prather, a 13-year-old boy, Jarrod, was not home at the time of the shooting in a subdivision in Douglasville, about 20 miles west of Atlanta.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Department said they haven't found any evidence of domestic violence at the home in the years leading up to the shooting.

Ferguson said Prather was on the phone with one of his friends while this was happening.

"My understanding he was trying to talk him out of it, trying to calm him down," Ferguson said.

Neighbors heard the shots and immediately called 911.

A witness told police one of the children was heard outside pleading with Prather not to shoot.

"My understanding from talking to the witnesses is that he shot Mr. Brown first, and Latoya second," Ferguson said. "And that's when he started with the children."

Prather used a .45-caliber handgun to shoot all the victims and himself. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace the gun and determine whether he had it legally.

Contributing: The Associated Press