A sniper who shot at cars on a Georgia highway, injuring 2, got 'courage and confidence' from the Parkland shooting suspect

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Police escorting students out of Stoneman Douglas High School

• A man who injured two people when he opened fire at cars on a Georgia highway idolized the Parkland shooting suspect and saw him as a "hero," the Hall County Sheriff said.
• Rex Whitmire Harbour, 26, fired at least 17 times and struck seven vehicles on Friday before turning his gun on himself.
• Authorities said they found "hate-filled" writings by Harbour that called Nikolas Cruz a "hero" who gave him "courage and confidence."

A sniper who killed himself after firing on cars and injuring two people on a Georgia highway idolized the Parkland, Florida school shooting suspect, a sheriff said Saturday.

A sheriff says 26-year-old landscaper Rex Whitmire Harbour of Snellville, fired at least 17 times and hit at least seven vehicles traveling northbound on Georgia 365 outside Atlanta around noon on Friday. Two people were wounded and a third was hurt by broken glass. None of their injuries were life-threatening.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch told a news conference that a deputy chased after a suspicious car pulling out of a wooded area adjacent the highway on Friday. He said the suspect shot himself in the head, and his car rolled to a stop. Harbour later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Couch said investigators found three 9mm handguns, a 12-gauge shotgun, a BB-gun, and more than 3,400 rounds of ammunition inside his vehicle, none of which appeared to be stolen.

Authorities then searched Harbour's home, where he lived with his parents, and found "hate-filled" handwritten documents. Couch said state and federal intelligence checks showed that Harbour had no recorded criminal or violent history, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

WSB-TV Atlanta reported that the sheriff said Harbour's mother told investigators her son was mild-mannered and quiet. But the writings suggest he viewed Florida suspect Nikolas Cruz as a "hero" who gave him "courage and confidence," the sheriff said.

Cruz killed 17 people when he opened fire on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day. He is currently being held in the Broward County jail on first-degree murder charges, and prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty.

Couch said it's unclear whether Harbour had any motivation for the shooting, other than hatred.

"What his motivation was other than just hate, we don't know at this time," Couch said. "He had the weapons, the ammunition, and obviously the will to inflict a lot of harm and a lot of hate."