A candlelight vigil in DeKalb County during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was suddenly interrupted by gunfire, leaving a 17-year-old dead. One man was quickly arrested last week, but police said they are still working to locate another suspect.
Kendell Torrence, 23, is facing charges of malice murder in the Nov. 27 death of Ian Hagerty, police announced Tuesday. The teenager was attending a vigil at the Highlands at East Atlanta complex on Flat Shoals Road when gunfire broke out shortly before 6:30 p.m. Officers found Hagerty and a 16-year-old victim at the scene. An 11-year-old went to a nearby Walmart on Gresham Road for help, police said.
But police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said homicide detectives believe “it may be that Kendell was not the primary shooter/aggressor” in the incident.
Photos of a man, who Wells said is the “main suspect in this case,” were released Tuesday. He is shown wearing a white and black jacket and gray pants.
According to witnesses, a gunman walked up to Hagerty and opened fire before running away.
The vigil was being held in remembrance of Taneaious McCune, who was killed Nov. 25 when police said he and three others attempted to break into a Gresham Road home and a resident fought back. Investigators have deemed the shooting justified and have charged three of McCune’s alleged accomplices with felony murder in his death.
The three home invasion suspects were also wounded. Jacqueze Grier, 23, and a 15-year-old boy were taken to hospitals with serious injuries, according to police, and another man, 30-year-old Telvin Thomas, arrived at a hospital and was later linked to the break-in. At least one was in critical condition.
Thomas was booked into the DeKalb County Jail the day after the incident. According to police, both he and Grier, who the sheriff’s office said remains in the hospital, are facing additional charges.
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