Five people have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting and rolling gun battle that investigators believe were the result of an ongoing feud.
The two shootings took place in the span of about seven hours Tuesday in the city of Carrollton, according to police. By Wednesday morning, five men ages 17 to 23 were in custody, and investigators said additional arrests were pending.
The drive-by shooting was reported about noon Tuesday in the 100 block of Nizzear Lane. No one was injured, but responding officers found bullet holes in the side of a home and a vehicle, Carrollton police said in a news release.
Over the course of their investigation, police determined the shooter was traveling in a black Toyota Scion. A car matching that description was spotted about 6:30 p.m. in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Hayes Mill Road.
Officers were attempting to locate the vehicle’s driver when they were called to the second shooting in the area of Ga. 166 and Ben Scott Boulevard.
There were reports of “two vehicles driving down the road with occupants shooting back and forth,” Investigator Meredith Browning said in the release.
“Officers located one of the suspect vehicles and attempted to initiate a traffic stop,” she said. “The driver fled and led officers on a short vehicle pursuit.”
The chase eventually ended on Nizzear Lane, not far from the location of the drive-by shooting. All the occupants inside a silver Chrysler 200 were detained without incident, Browning said.
The second vehicle, a white Chevrolet Impala, was located a short time later after a woman called 911 to report damage from the rolling gun battle. Her son’s vehicle was riddled with bullets on Tabernacle Drive, she told police.
The Impala was still in the area, and its driver was arrested.
According to police, the driver of the Toyota Scion was in custody by 8:40 p.m. after officers conducted another traffic stop. The suspected gunman in the Nizzear Lane drive-by shooting was also arrested at that time.
“It was determined both incidents were related and a result of an ongoing dispute,” Browning said. “Numerous firearms were recovered during the investigation.”
Four of the suspects are residents of Nizzear Lane. Trelandous Parham, 17, Jerime Lacey, 23, Malachi Manjuan Smith, 19, and Darrion Jejuan Mitchell, 19, were arrested on a single count each of aggravated assault.
Lacey, Smith and Mitchell also face charges of obstruction, carrying a weapon in a school safety zone and reckless conduct. Lacey has additional charges related to the police chase, according to authorities.
A fifth suspect, 18-year-old Dylan Blake Carroll, was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault.
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