The man alleged to have shot and killed two people inside a Buckhead nightclub in May was indicted on murder charges Thursday by a Fulton County grand jury.
Karanji Reese, 21, was charged with two counts of murder, six counts of felony murder, six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and four counts of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm in the deaths of Miriam Creighton, a 21-year-old volleyball player from Stockbridge, and 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley, who police say was the intended target, inside Elleven45 Lounge on May 12.
Four others were shot but survived.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Investigators say Reese opened fire inside the nightclub after Ridley punched him. During a June preliminary hearing, prosecutors played surveillance footage that showed a man, who investigators believe was Reese, arriving at the club with a group of people around 2:15 a.m.
About 10 minutes later, another man, who detectives identified as Ridley, is seen speaking to another man before approaching Reese and punching him multiple times. The fight prompted Reese to pull out a gun and begin shooting, investigators testified.
The video did not show Creighton, who had reportedly been at the nightclub celebrating her niece’s 22nd birthday when she was shot. Her cause of death was a gunshot wound to her right lower extremity, authorities said.
Investigators had not determined a motive in the case, but said Reese and Ridley had previously been friends.
The indictment comes weeks after Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachelle Carnesale granted the city of Atlanta’s request to close down the nightclub after the fatal shooting. Carnesale ruled that the nightclub was a public nuisance and cannot reopen.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Elleven45 faces three other lawsuits in relation to the shooting, including two wrongful death complaints from Creighton’s parents and the mother of Ridley’s child, as well as a case alleging negligence from one of the surviving victims.
The nightclub’s owner, Djibril Dafe, was arrested on a bench warrant in an unrelated case, hours after a hearing in the city’s case began on Aug. 1. Dafe was indicted in December on three felony charges of identity theft, theft by taking and theft by deception, court records show. He was due to be arraigned in May, but failed to appear in court.
Dafe, who is accused of getting a $25,000 loan in someone else’s name, was released on a $5,000 bond.
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