A man who was working on an electrical project at an East Cobb home on Wednesday has died after a double shooting there, Cobb Police said Thursday afternoon.
Lisa Watkins Godsey and Jessica Godsey Smith, the aunt and cousin, respectively, of Jake Allen Horne, 21, of Kennesaw, left messages with East Cobb News earlier Thursday saying that he had died.
Police didn’t initially confirm that information. They said that Horne, who was shot in the head, and his boss, Gordon Montcalm, 37, of Buchanan, Ga., who was shot multiple times, were taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital after the shootings Wednesday afternoon at a residence in East Cobb.
They were listed in serious condition, police previously said.
Larry Epstein, 68, the homeowner of a residence at 1963 Wellington Lane, is being held without bond in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated battery, police said.
In a statement issued around 3:30 p.m. Thursday Cobb Police said the department’s “Crimes Against Persons Unit will be working with the District Attorney’s Office to upgrade the offense appropriately.”
Horne and Montcalm were at Epstein’s home, located in the Kensington neighborhood off Johnson Ferry Road, and had completed work for the day, around 2:25 p.m., when there was an argument between them and the homeowner, according to police.
The argument escalated, and police said Horne and Montcalm were shot by the homeowner. Sgt. Wayne Delk of Cobb Police said they still don’t know what led to the dispute.
Cobb Police sent a heavy presence into the community, located between Sewell Mill Road and Oak Lane, including a SWAT team, mobile command unit and helicopters, after someone called 911 about an active shooter there.
A Wellington Lane resident told East Cobb News the street was blocked off and she and other neighbors were ordered to stay inside for a time.
Epstein was taken into custody around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and was booked overnight, according to Cobb Sheriff’s records.
Godsey said Horne was declared brain-dead Wednesday and life support was turned off Thursday morning.
Lisa Godsey, who lives in California and formerly resided in Cherokee County, told East Cobb News that her nephew was an apprentice electrician who was working for Montcalm. He had turned 21 only in January, she said.
“This is a boy that would give you the shirt off of his back. He had a heart of gold,” Godsey said about Horne in a message to East Cobb News. “He thought of everyone else before himself.”
Horne lived for a while in California, Godsey said, and “was best friends with my sons,” and later returned home to Georgia to be near his sister Sadie, who is a few years younger.
“We made plans for tomorrow night. My heart hurts so unbelievably much right now. You had such a great heart. You always had a smile on your face, to know you was to love you. And you were truly like a brother to me.”
Friends and family members said the Horne siblings lost their mother and father in recent years, and now Sadie Horne is planning her brother’s funeral.
Lisa Godsey said a Go Fund Me page has been set up for Horne’s funeral expenses.
“This is a very unfair thing,” Godsey said. “We demand Justice for Jake. Please show the world what has been taken. I pray that he is high in the heavens with his new wings.”
Cobb Police said their investigation into the shootings is continuing and that anyone with information should call 770-499-3945.
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