Current:Home > Markets16-year-old brother fatally shot months after US airman Roger Fortson was killed by deputy -ValueMetric
16-year-old brother fatally shot months after US airman Roger Fortson was killed by deputy
View
Date:2025-04-17 11:47:53
Months after U.S. Air Force senior airman Roger Fortson was gunned down by a Florida deputy, his 16-year-old brother was killed as a result of a shooting in Georgia.
Andre Fortson was fatally shot on Wednesday at Summit Hill Apartments in DeKalb County, which is just east of Atlanta. When officers got to the scene just before 10:00 p.m. local time, they discovered the victim in a breezeway with gunshot wounds, a DeKalb Police spokesperson told USA TODAY.
Police arrested a suspected shooter, identified as 20-year-old Quintavious Zellner. Jail records show that he was charged with aggravated assault.
In their initial investigation, detectives determined that "two groups of subjects were shooting at each other" for an unknown reason, according to police.
Community members told WSB-TV they overheard gunfire before cars skirted off the scene. An injured Andre was left behind as a neighbor tried to help him.
“I tried to save him, doing CPR because I couldn’t save him," a neighbor, identified only as Jaqueia, told the outlet, describing Andre as a "really good boy. He was never disrespectful, never saw him in any altercations, or anything like that."
Roger Fortson news:Body of US airman fatally shot by Florida deputy returned to Georgia ahead of funeral
Roger Fortson was killed by a deputy in May
The death of Andre comes as the family is grappling with the death of Fortson in early May. Eddie Duran, who was terminated from the Okaloosa County County Sheriff's Office, was identified as the deputy involved.
On May 3, Duran responded to a Fort Walton Beach apartment complex after receiving a call about an apparent disturbance.
Duran's body camera footage shows that he knocked on Fortson's apartment door three times and announced he was with the sheriff's office. Fortson opened the door while holding a gun in his right hand and pointed down. The deputy said, "step back," and then shot Fortson.
"I want justice for my child. You're not going to throw me a bone. Take his credentials. Take his pension," his mother, Chantemekki Fortson, said at a news conference.
During the investigation, the sheriff's office found that Duran's use of force "was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy."
Fortson's body was delivered to his family in Atlanta prior to his funeral.
Family attorney requests privacy for the family during this 'impossible time'
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump confirmed the passing of the family member in a statement on Wednesday.
"The Fortson family is battling the loss of yet another young member of their family. This has been an incredibly challenging time for them with the loss of Roger," the statement said. "Losing the life of yet another young family member – a mere child – has been an absolute devastation. We are asking the media and the public for privacy and space during this impossible time.”
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@gannett.com.
veryGood! (28449)
Related
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- FedEx, UPS warn deliveries may be delayed due to Microsoft outage
- Seattle police officer fired over vile comments after death of woman fatally struck by police SUV
- Tiger Woods misses cut, finishes disastrous British Open at 14-over
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- 5 people, including 4 children, killed in Alabama shooting
- Carroll Fitzgerald, former Baltimore council member wounded in 1976 shooting, dead at 89
- Hot, inland California cities face the steepest water cuts with new conservation mandate
- The GOP and Kansas’ Democratic governor ousted targeted lawmakers in the state’s primary
- Social media content creator Aanvi Kamdar dies in fall at India's poplar Kumbhe waterfall
Ranking
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Julia Fox’s Brunette Hair Transformation Will Have You Doing a Double Take
- Ten Commandments won’t go in Louisiana classrooms until at least November as lawsuit plays out
- Illinois deputy charged with murder after fatally shooting Sonya Massey inside her home
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- 9-Year-Old Boy Found Dead in Arizona Home Filled With Spiders and Gallons of Apparent Urine
- Too old to work? Some Americans on the job late in life bristle at calls for Biden to step aside
- Trump says he'll end the inflation nightmare. Economists say Trumponomics could drive up prices.
Recommendation
Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
What Usha Vance’s rise to prominence means to other South Asian and Hindu Americans
A man kills a grizzly bear in Montana after it attacks while he is picking berries
Black lawmakers are standing by Biden at a crucial moment. But some express concern
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
A voter ID initiative gets approval to appear on the November ballot in Nevada
Two deaths linked to listeria food poisoning from meat sliced at deli counters
Alabama names Bryant-Denny Stadium field after Nick Saban