Most days in quarantine have looked the same for the Zavala brothers, but Thursday evening promised a break from the norm with the addition of some old-fashioned elbow grease.
The brothers, 16-year-old Jesus and 13-year-old Brayan, were tinkering with a lawn mower in the front yard of their family’s home on Willow Lane, a closed loop in the back of a mobile home community off Ga. 85 in western Clayton County. Brayan was busy with some parts on the machine’s back end.
It was that position, Jesus supposes, that made Brayan an open target when a masked assailant opened fire.
“The shooter didn’t even say I want your money, or this is a robbery or I’m assaulting you,” Jesus said Friday morning. “He just came, stood there (in) silence and shot my brother.”
Surrounded by reporters and news cameras, he had become spokesman for a family struggling to make sense of a child’s death death. He vividly recounted the details of the deadly shooting, hoping something in his memory would help to solve what both family members and investigators say appears to be a random killing.
“The bullets passed through him and blood just squirted out of him,” Jesus said. “We tried to stop all the blood but by the time the police got here, it didn’t seem like he had life or a chance to live.”
Brayan was dead when Clayton County police officers arrived about 9:15 p.m. No one recognized the shooter or got a good look at the person, who was wearing a ski mask, a long-sleeve sweater and black pants. He drove away in the dark-colored Chevy, Jesus said. He didn’t recognize the car, either, he added.
“My dad is really devastated," he told reporters as his father sobbed in the background and held a photo of his slain son. "He couldn’t talk because it’s his little boy. I’m trying to be as tough as I can be so I can help them with something. It’s my brother, but I just want my family to be strong.”
Jesus sighed.
“It’s a tough situation."
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Police haven’t determined any connection between Brayan and the gunman. The GBI conducted an autopsy. While the family has few answers, community members have offered support. Jesus created a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising enough money for his brother to be buried in Mexico, and donors had contributed more than $8,500 by Friday evening.
“As a Clayton County police officer for over 38 years very little shocks me. But, this brutal, senseless murder has overwhelmed me,” wrote Doug Jewett. “I send my prayers to the family.”
“We remain united in prayer and are available to help in any way that we can,” a representative from St Philip Benizi Catholic Church in Jonesboro wrote. “May God give you His strength and peace as you take these next steps. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. God is with you!”
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Brayan, a Kendrick Middle School student, would have turned 14 next week. He liked riding his bike and jogging in the park and was diligent about doing his homework, his brother said.
“He was a really happy brother,” he said. “He doesn’t like problems. It’s just not him. I don’t know why.”
— Staff writers Tanni Deb and Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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