A murder suspect wanted in connection with the "targeted" killings of four people in Tennessee was captured after a several-day manhunt.
Police said Tuesday morning that Austin Drummond, 28, was taken into custody.
U.S. marshals captured him after he was spotted in the area Sunday evening, police said.
After security cameras showed Austin Drummond armed with a rifle, a shelter-in-place order was issued, warning residents to lock their doors and windows.
Footage released by the department on Monday shows him, wearing a camouflage jacket, trying to break into a building.
The Gut‑Wrenching Start
Late on July 29, emergency dispatchers got a call about a baby—just seven months old—left in a car seat on somebody’s random front yard in rural Dyer County.
Can you imagine the gut‑punch seeing a baby just abandoned there? It wasn’t long before investigators linked this to a family that went missing nearby.
Within hours, in remote woods in Lake County near Tiptonville, they found four bodies—the baby’s mother, her partner, her grandmother, and her teenage uncle. It hit the community like a freight train—shock, sorrow, the whole nine yards.
Who is Austin Drummond?
Turns out, the man suspected behind it all is Austin Robert Drummond, 28. He’d been in and out of the criminal justice system for years—he’s a convicted felon, having served time for serious stuff like armed robbery, kidnapping, and even attempted murder.
At the time of the shootings, he was out on bond for an attempted murder charge. Not exactly your neighbor next door.
Cops say he wasn’t just some random stranger—it seems he had a connection to the family. Reports say he once dated a sister of the grandmother, so this wasn’t a one‑off break‑in—this was targeted.
They say he killed the four adults by shooting them, though motive is still murky and being sorted out. Heads are still spinning on exactly why he did it, but the link to the family makes it all the more chilling.
The Crazy Weeklong Manhunt
Once suspicions shifted to Drummond, law enforcement put out the alert—telling people he was armed and dangerous, offering a reward that climbed as the days dragged on.
For an entire week, state and local teams, federal agents, even residents pitched in. Shelter‑in‑place orders went out in parts of Jackson when he was spotted.
Cameras flashed images of a man in camouflage, carrying a rifle, trying doors, lurking around houses. It all felt straight out of a crime thriller.
Finally, on August 5, a break came. A construction crew in Jackson spotted a figure darting into the woods.
They called it in—boom. Drummond was taken into custody, sweat‑soaked and clearly exhausted after his time on the run. The baby? Safe and now being cared for by relatives. Justice had caught up—for now.
What Charges Is He Looking At?
He’s swimming in legal trouble. They’ve slapped him with four counts of first‑degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and multiple weapons charges, including felon‑in‑possession and using a firearm during another felony.
Prosecutors are looking into whether to seek the death penalty, since the killings are so severe.
Three others—Tanaka Brown, Giovonte Thomas, and Dearrah Sanders—have been arrested, too, accused of helping Drummond dodge capture. The dog-and-pony show is far from over.
So Who’s Austin, Really?
You know how sometimes someone’s past just keeps shadowing them? That’s Drummond. From his youth he’s had a rap sheet—armed robberies, threats, prison stints.
He got out, kept getting into trouble, and at the moment he allegedly committed this atrocity, he was literally on bond for attempted murder.
Folks already had concerns about him getting out again—and now he’s accused of committing a massacre. And with that family connection, it’s not bystanders he targeted—it was people he’d once known well.
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