Former GSU football player killed in shooting during robbery, officials say
A former Georgia State University football player died in a shooting during an armed robbery that Atlanta police said injured three others, including the suspect.
Demazio Skelton Jr., 35, was killed Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office. A GSU spokesperson confirmed he once played for the school’s football team.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the tragic loss of Demazio Skelton Jr. He was an exceptional student-athlete and is among the top defensive players to take the field for the Panther football team,” a statement from GSU said. “Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, friends, former teammates and those who knew and loved him. He will forever be a Georgia State Panther.”
A 19-year-old, who was also injured in the shooting, is facing charges in the incident, police said.
Naim Smith has been charged with felony murder, three counts of armed robbery and two counts of aggravated assault in the shooting, according to warrants and jail records. He was booked into the Fulton County jail Wednesday after he went to a hospital on his own to treat a gunshot wound to his right arm, a warrant says.
Police said they responded around 3 p.m. Tuesday to the apartments at 55 Maple St. in downtown Atlanta and found three men shot, including Skelton.
The two who survived the shooting were taken to a hospital with gunshot injuries, according to Atlanta police. They described for police an altercation involving a gun after more than one man kicked in the door to the apartment and said “‘Give it up,’” the warrant says.
One of the injured men who was inside the apartment told police that as one of the intruders was going into his pockets, “he grabbed the gun the suspect was holding and fought the suspect before being shot in the arm,” according to the warrant.
During the investigation, police learned Smith went by private vehicle to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. There, he told investigators he had been shot somewhere in DeKalb County near Stonecrest, the warrant says.
But police “confirmed with the DeKalb County Police that no shooting was reported in the area around Stonecrest that day,” according to the court document.
The warrants allege Smith “conspired with three yet to be identified males” to rob the men at the apartment complex.
Investigators say they found what appeared to be mushrooms and marijuana in the apartment, which they believe was being used to store drugs for sale, the warrant says.