(TIPTONVILLE, Tenn.) — A manhunt is underway for a 29-year-old man who allegedly killed four people and left their baby alive, Tennessee authorities said.
Austin Robert Drummond is considered armed and dangerous following the killings of 38-year-old Cortney Rose, Rose’s children 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams, and Adrianna Williams’ boyfriend, 21-year-old James “Michael” Wilson, according to authorities and family.
The victims were killed on Tuesday and found along a road in Lake County, in northwest Tennessee near the state’s borders with Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, authorities said.
The same day, Wilson and Williams’ baby was left in a car seat in a “random individual’s front yard” in nearby Dyer County, according to the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office and Danny Goodman, district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties.
The infant was treated by paramedics and is now safe and being cared for, authorities said.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the killings were not random. Investigators believe Drummond knew the victims, Goodman said.
Drummond is wanted on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, the TBI said.
“While this was an extremely tragic and violent event,” the TBI said on social media, “there was a sign of compassion … that tells us there’s a possibility that Austin may have a sense that there is hope for him to be able to come in and have a conversation about what happened.”
TBI Director David Rausch said authorities believe Drummond is still in the area. Drummond’s white 2016 Audi has been found in Jackson, Tennessee, and Drummond has ties to Jackson, officials said.
Goodman said Drummond had been out on bond for an attempted murder charge, which stemmed from an alleged incident while he was in prison for attempted robbery.
A $15,000 reward has been offered for information leading to his arrest.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
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