In the quiet neighborhood of Rex, Georgia, a domestic disturbance call on the evening of November 30, 2021, escalated into a tragic sequence of events that claimed multiple lives, including that of 24-year-old Clayton County Police Officer Henry Laxson. A member of the SWAT team, Laxson was among the officers who responded to a series of increasingly frantic 911 calls from Jervis Court.
The initial reports of a domestic dispute soon spiraled into notifications of gunfire, a woman lying motionless in a yard, and a child having been shot.
Upon their arrival at the chaotic scene around 8:40 p.m., the first officers were met by a harrowing sight: a 12-year-old boy who had been shot in the face. Despite his grave injuries, the young boy was able to direct the officers to the residence where the violence was unfolding. As police approached the home, they were immediately met with gunfire from a man inside. The gunman, later identified as 35-year-old Arthur Allen Gilliam, fired at the officers before retreating towards the back of the house.
As members of the Tactical Unit, Officer Laxson and his partner, Officer Alex Chandler, were strategically approaching the home from the rear when they encountered Gilliam. The suspect opened fire on them, fatally wounding Officer Laxson and injuring Officer Chandler in the hand. The officers returned fire, killing Gilliam at the scene. Both wounded officers were rushed to the hospital, but Officer Laxson succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation following the shootout revealed the full extent of the tragedy that preceded the officers' arrival. Inside the residence and on the property, authorities discovered that Arthur Allen Gilliam had shot and killed two women, identified as 70-year-old Mary Gilliam and 32-year-old Dominique Bibbins, before opening fire on law enforcement. The 12-year-old boy who first alerted the police was also one of his victims. As the suspect was killed during the confrontation with police, no arrests were made in connection to the deaths. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called to conduct an independent investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
