Henry County police want to talk to a teenager they call a person of interest in a shooting that left a Stockbridge High School senior dead.

Police said Dexter Covington was in the McDonough area where 17-year-old Jesse Thomas was shot at a house party Saturday morning, Henry County police said in a news release.

Covington, 19, was last seen driving an all black Chevrolet Camaro with the Georgia license plate RCA2611.

About 1:40 a.m., officers responded to a house in the 1000 block of Maria Drive outside McDonough, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.

Jesse Thomas (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)
icon to expand image

Officers found blood on the door, but no one was in the house.

Soon after, Thomas arrived at Piedmont Henry Hospital with a serious gunshot wound, and he later died, police said.

Jamal Sullivan, Thomas’s father, told Channel 2 Action News that the last thing he told his son was “I love you.”

Thomas was about a month away from graduation and Sullivan was shocked that his son was killed after a fight at a party.

"From what I heard it died down and escalated back up really quick,” Sullivan told Channel 2. “No one knows what happened. Punches were thrown and the guy fired … He was just shot.”

Anyone who sees Covington is urged to call Detective Rotella with the Henry County Police Department at 770-288-8269.

The school district says counselors will be available for students when they go back to Stockbridge High School Monday morning.

About 50 party goers could help police catch the person who killed a teenager.

About the Author

Keep Reading

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will expand to 48 teams, marking the first expansion of the field since 1998. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Featured

Managing Partner at Atlantica Properties, Darion Dunn (center) talks with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens during a tour following the ribbon cutting of Waterworks Village as part of the third phase of the city’s Rapid Housing Initiative on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez