Less than three months after a Georgia airman was killed by a sheriff’s deputy in his Florida apartment, tragedy has again struck his metro Atlanta family.
Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson was shot to death May 3. On Tuesday night, Fortson’s younger brother, 16-year-old Andre Fortson, was shot and killed at a DeKalb County apartment complex, according to police.
“It’s tragic,” attorney Ben Crump told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
The airman’s shooting death quickly made national headlines. Authorities said an Okaloosa County, Florida, deputy was responding to a call about a disturbance at Fortson’s complex and that the 23-year-old was holding a gun when he answered the door.
But Crump, who is representing the family, called Fortson’s shooting unjustified. Deputy Eddie Duran was later fired from the sheriff’s office.
Fortson had graduated from McNair High School, then joined the Air Force. He remained close with his family, often returning to the Atlanta area. Fortson was particularly close to his 10-year-old sister, his mother previously told the AJC.
“As soon as we catch our breath, we’re reminded that he’s not here,” his mother, Meka Fortson, said through tears. “He was my gift.”
She must now deal with the loss of another child.
The shooting death of her 16-year-old son prompted an impassioned plea from detectives for the community to speak up and step up.
DeKalb police were called around 9:45 p.m. to the Summit Hill Apartments on Bouldercrest Road and found the teen’s body in a breezeway, officials confirmed. As detectives investigated, they started to impound a vehicle in which a gun had been left, Channel 2 Action News reported. The car’s owner then approached and demanded they not take it.
Investigators told him that his son said he left a gun inside his father’s car, which was why it was considered evidence.
“I know my son ain’t got nothing to do with this,” the man could be heard saying on camera. “They said four boys got out the car and started shooting. Y’all ain’t taking my car. I need to talk to him.”
“I am telling you, this is coming from the mouth of your son, and you talking to him is not going to change the fact that he said it,” one detective responded.
At some point, another detective, exasperated from having a front-row seat to pain wrought by gun violence, chimed in.
“That mother right now could care less about a car or anything else,” she was heard telling the man.
“When are we going to learn to say enough is enough?” she pleaded. “When are we going to say we got to learn how to take back our community and our streets? When?”
The car was eventually confiscated, and police have not released any other details about the case or confirmed that a suspect has been identified.
“The community needs to say something. Nobody is talking,” a detective said.
July has been an especially violent month for teenagers in Atlanta. At least seven others have been shot across the city, with four of them dying. Officials have not said if they know what is behind the recent shootings or if any are connected.
Among the dead are two 13-year-olds, Lamon Freeman and Jakody Davis, who were gunned down July 2. A 12-year-old was also injured in that incident.
The community in that case has also been hesitant to speak to investigators, spurring police to employ an augmented canvassing technique in hopes of shaking out information. In an apparent show of force the following week, officers on horseback, motorcycles and on foot spread out into the West End neighborhood where the boys lost their lives, hoping to find someone who knew something.
As of Wednesday, Atlanta police had not announced a suspect in that case.
— Staff writer Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this article.
