Courtney Reese, a 32-year-old mother of four, was shot and killed in southeast Atlanta on the evening of August 20, 2024. Officers found Reese near the intersection of Springside and Macon drives in the Glenrose Heights neighborhood with multiple gunshot wounds; she later succumbed to her injuries. A neighbor’s Ring camera recorded Reese pleading with a man before she was shot multiple times.

Investigators identified 33-year-old Derrick Rankins as the suspect. On August 27 a fugitive task force located him at a home in Stockbridge to serve a warrant for Reese’s murder. During the attempted arrest Rankins barricaded himself, fired at officers and struck an Atlanta police investigator in the arm. After a two-hour standoff Rankins was found dead inside the residence; authorities did not immediately clarify whether he was killed by law enforcement or died by suicide.

Reese’s family described her as vibrant and loving; she leaves three daughters and a son. Her family had also suffered another recent loss to gun violence when her younger sister was killed months earlier. Does anyone have information about Reese’s life in Glenrose Heights or details that could help explain what led up to that night?