Local, state and federal law enforcement raided a home in DeKalb County on Thursday morning and arrested a teenager, who officials said was wanted in connection with last month’s deadly shooting at a homecoming after-party in northeast Georgia.
Christopher Bell, 19, was taken into custody on murder and gang charges after the GBI, FBI agents and DeKalb police executed a search warrant at the residence in the 600 block of Shadow Valley Court near Lithonia. Bell was the sixth suspect arrested in connection with the Oct. 12 shooting in Elberton, which left a 15-year-old student dead and four other teens shot.
Photos showed agents flooding in and out of the two-story home as an armored vehicle was parked in the driveway in the residential neighborhood.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Last month, more than a dozen gunshots were fired just before midnight on Evergreen Drive, where a homecoming dance after-party was being held for Elbert County High School students, according to the GBI. Bry’shun Jordan, 15, of Hartwell, was killed, officials said, while four other people suffered gunshot wounds. Three more “sustained injuries related to the shooting incident,” the state agency added.
The deadly shooting left the community heartbroken, Elberton Mayor Daniel Graves previously said in a statement. Jordan was a Hart Academy student, school officials confirmed.
“It is proof of what we already knew, but don’t want to have to accept: Our community is not immune from the terrible, senseless and tragic events of our times,” Graves said. “To the family of young Bry’Shun Jordan, there are no words. Our condolences on a life stolen. To the survivors, we praise God your life was spared.”
Authorities have not provided a motive for the shooting in Elberton, located near the South Carolina border and about 100 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Last month, the GBI arrested five people in connection with the gunfire, who, along with Bell, are all from Anderson, South Carolina. The city is about 30 miles north of Elberton.
Jarquavious Scott, 18, was arrested Oct. 17, while Destanne Mathis, 20, and Aanidras Parks, 18, were arrested Oct. 28. Two days later, Jerimiyah Hughes, 19, and Desmond Latimer, 18, were taken into custody. All of the suspects are charged with murder and violation of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act, officials said.
Bell, Scott and Parks are also charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery, while Mathis and Latimer are also charged with being a party to a crime, the GBI said. The suspects arrested last month were all booked into the Elbert County Jail.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
A DeKalb police spokesperson said she couldn’t provide details about the raid. An FBI Atlanta spokesperson said their agents responded to the home for “court authorized activities” and that the GBI was taking the lead in the investigation.
Bell was taken to the Dekalb County Jail and will be extradited to Elbert County, the GBI said.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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