12 teens wounded in shooting at late-night birthday gathering in Georgia park
MACON — Twelve teenagers were wounded in gunfire here early Sunday, two of them critically, in a shooting at a city park not far from I-16 at the edge of downtown.
The victims ranged in age from 17 to 19 — 10 males and two females — and most were believed to be students at area high schools who had congregated to celebrate a classmate’s 18th birthday.
Earlier in the night, some, if not all, of the victims had gathered to mark that occasion at an Airbnb in neighboring Jones County, but the property owner made them leave after learning firearms were present, Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Sometime before midnight, Davis said, the revelers reconvened in what is now known as Carolyn Crayton Park, a recreation area that was long home to the Georgia State Fair. The park was for more than a century, up until 2023, known as Central City Park — a nod to Macon’s location in the heart of the state. The park closes at 10 p.m., but its gates remain open.
Around midnight, a second and apparently unaffiliated or uninvited group arrived in the park by car, wheeling into the area where the partygoers were, the sheriff said. Minutes later, the shooting started. It was not clear why.
“There was an exchange of words, and then (it) went to an exchange of gunfire. … We’re hearing some gang nexus, we’re hearing school nexus, we’re hearing personal relationship nexus. Right now, it’s all to be determined,” Davis said.
He added that “this is a situation where you have a large number of people — there were dozens of people in a small area — and gunfire erupted indiscriminately. There is no indication that any of these individuals who were injured … participated in the gunfire.”
The sheriff said there were “several” guns involved and multiple shooters. Footage of the incident was recorded by at least one surveillance camera mounted in the park. In the video, cars can be seen racing from the lot as shots flash and gunfire thunders. As of Sunday evening, no arrests had been made.
The episode, which Davis described as “a horrific chain of events,” happened at a parking lot in the shadows of one of the oldest minor league baseball venues in the country. Luther Williams Field, which opened in 1929, was an early-career home to such future big-league greats as Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Vince Coleman, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones.
The sheriff said three of the wounded were football players at Northeast High School. Their team is currently ranked fifth in the state in Class 3A.
Davis was asked by reporters whether more stringent curfew ordinances could curtail gun violence involving young people. The sheriff said a curfew wouldn’t have covered most of the teens involved because they were 17 or older.
“Maybe some of these parents ought to think about having a curfew at home to keep these kids out of the street with their guns,” the sheriff said.
“When we find out who did this, and we’re gonna find out who did it, I’ll guarantee you there are some adult loved ones or some guardians who knew they had guns. Not a doubt in my mind. And if we can charge any adult in connection with this, we’re gonna do that, too.”