Teen arrested in quadruple shooting that killed 2 boys in DeKalb

An 18-year-old was arrested Tuesday, two days after two boys were killed and two women were injured in a DeKalb County shooting, police said.

Julian Ellis was booked into the DeKalb jail at 11 p.m. and faces two counts of felony murder and four counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, online records show. Brothers Ja’marion Rolle, 11, and Ja’Khi Clark, 12, died after the Sunday incident.

“We continue to extend our deepest condolences to the families of the young victims. We recognize that their loss is unimaginable, and we stand with those who are grieving during this difficult time,” police said in a news release.

Officers were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 1000 block of North Hairston Road around 5:50 p.m. Sunday. The area is just north of Memorial Drive and outside the city of Stone Mountain.

The younger boy was found with a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials, and the second boy was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died.

Authorities said Sunday evening that the two injured women, ages 19 and 39, were stable at a hospital.

According to an incident report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the boys’ mother told police the shooting “stemmed from an altercation” that happened Thursday. She told officials there was a fight between her family and other children who she said did not live in the same apartment complex.

A few days later, on Sunday, when her family was in the backyard, the mother told police a group of “juvenile females came to fight her sons,” the report details. The girls eventually left but returned some time later, and the mother told police she spotted a man she believed was holding a gun.

The boys’ mother told police she went into her home and then heard a flurry of gunshots. She said she saw the man running while shooting, according to the incident report.

Police said in the report that multiple shell casings were discovered in the grass and several bullet holes were found in a wooden fence and an upstairs window.

Ja’marion was a fifth grader at Stone Mill Elementary School. Ja’Khi was in the sixth grade at Stone Mountain Middle School. Both schools’ principals sent letters Monday saying guidance counselors, psychologists and other support staff would be available throughout the week for as long as needed.

Police said Tuesday the shooting remains under investigation. County leaders plan to hold a news conference at 10 a.m. to discuss youth violence prevention.

“The DeKalb County Police Department and our community will not tolerate gun violence, and we remain committed to working together to protect lives and build a safer DeKalb County,” the department said.