The man accused of shooting two Forest Park police officers is dead. Jacob Bailey was found dead behind a home in the area where the shooting took place, near Forest Park Middle School.
According to his sister Jennifer, he was a father of two boys and was addicted to drugs.
"He's been struggling for 10 years," Jennifer Bailey told 11Alive's Joe Henke soon after finding out that her only sibling was dead.
She said with his history of drug use, she was afraid something would happen but not this soon. Jennifer said Jacob had changed over the last ten years.
"He was struggling, fighting the addiction; in and out of jails, rehabs," she said.
They were both born and raised in the Forest Park area and Jennifer said she tried to help her baby brother get clean. Bailey described who he became while he was on meth, as someone completely different.
"Deep down inside him, I know my brother was still there. I know he was still that funny guy that I remember. I just wish I could have gotten him back to that," she said.
"It kills you. It kills your soul. It kills your family. It just hurts everybody," she said through tears.
According to Clayton County court records, Bailey has faced numerous charges ranging from marijuana possession to criminal trespass to family violence battery. He was incarcerated September 2013 through May 2014. He was in prison again from August 2016 to February 2017 on theft by taking and family violence battery charges.
Wednesdya's shooting placed Forest Park Middle School on lockdown for a couple of hours while police initially looked for Bailey and made sure there were no other suspects. At least six different police agencies responded to the shooting.
According to Forest Park police, one of the injured officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries; the other officer went into surgery; his condition is not yet known.
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