A 14-year-old boy is dead and another teenager was injured after a house party near Woodstock erupted in gunfire early Sunday morning, authorities said.
Investigators believe the shooting was the result of an earlier fight at what appeared to be another large gathering of teens in Kennesaw. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office has released video of that fight at the West 22 apartments on Cherokee Street and asked for the public’s help to identify the people involved.
“Our detectives continue to work around the clock attempting to identify the suspect in this case,” agency spokesman Capt. Jay Baker told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “They have been reviewing video from the incident and interviewing witnesses who have come forward, but as of now the suspect has not been identified.”
Shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, deputies were called to a large house party on Victoria Road. When they arrived, Baker said multiple cars were already fleeing the area and people were running from the house.
Deputies found the 14-year-old boy in the back of an SUV with a gunshot wound to the torso, he said. He was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he died. Baker said authorities are not releasing the boy’s name to protect the integrity of the investigation.
A short time later, a 19-year-old man who was at the party showed up at Northside Cherokee Hospital with gunshot wounds to his hand and elbow, Baker said. He was released not long after.
Kaden Evans, a neighbor who lives a few doors down from the Victoria Road home, told Channel 2 Action News that he heard gunfire and soon after saw the chaos.
“Gunshots. A lot of them,” Evans told the news station. “People were walking up and down the street at 1 in the morning and I’m on the phone and I heard pow, pow, pow. I went and woke my parents up and said they’re shooting a machine gun over there or something.”
Baker confirmed that multiple shots had been fired at the home.
Investigators believe the same people involved in the earlier fight at the Kennesaw apartment complex ended up at the party in Cherokee County. In the 12-second video released Sunday evening, multiple people can be seen throwing punches in a doorway. Others rush in to break up the fight.
Kennesaw police have not released any other details about the incident in their jurisdiction. In Cherokee, several witnesses were interviewed after the shooting, but Baker said limited information was obtained.
“Anybody who was here maybe doing something wrong, maybe underage drinking, that’s really not our focus. We really want your information so please don’t be afraid to call us,” Baker told Channel 2 from the scene. “Because if you saw anything or have video on your phone, any information will be helpful to us at this point.”
Cherokee County sheriff’s investigators are asking anyone who has information on the shooting or recognizes anyone in the video to call 678-493-4080.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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