The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

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Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:45 PM

Tennessee Police Searching For 23-Year Old Man Who Admitted On Facebook He Killed Mom, Friend Before Escaping

Casey Lawhorn called the East Ridge Police Department and told officers he shot his mother, Vi Lawhorn, and his friend, Avery Gaines, early Sunday morning before he drove off, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

In the now-removed Facebook post, Lawhorn allegedly wrote that he shot and killed both adults "with a stolen .22 [long rifle]."

Mississippi's Jasper County Sheriff's Department said on Sunday evening that Lawhorn's car was found abandoned on Interstate 59, but that Lawhorn was not in the vehicle.

He's "still presumed to be in Jasper County," officials said, adding that "Lawhorn is armed and considered very dangerous."

The Dade County Sheriff's Office wrote earlier on Facebook that Lawhorn, after getting gas in Dade County around 5:30 early Sunday, was believed to be driving south toward Georgia and didn't stay in the area.

In a Facebook post uploaded around 5 p.m. Sunday, Lawhorn described what took place at his home around 1:30 a.m.

The 23-year-old described in graphic detail that within "probably 3 or 4 minutes," he killed his mother, who "was completely wasted" after picking her up from a bar, as well as Gaines, a man Lawhorn described as "a close friend."

Police said Lawhorn, who wrote that he was broken down on Interstate 59 in Mississippi when he posted to Facebook, is white, 5'5" and around 108 pounds.

Nicole Darrah covers breaking and trending news for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @nicoledarrah.