Officials identify 5 killed in apparent murder-suicide at DeKalb apartment

Officials have identified the five people, including a 1-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, who were killed in a suspected murder-suicide at a DeKalb County apartment complex Saturday night, authorities said.

The shooting, which is believed to be domestic-related, happened just before 7:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of Vineyard Walk inside an apartment, where Christmas lights surrounded a window facing the parking lot, police said. The address corresponds to the Vineyards at Flat Shoals.

Details are limited, but when officers arrived for a wellness check, they found the two children, two women and a man dead from gunshot wounds, officials said.

On Monday, the victims were identified as 1-year-old Jontavious Powell, 5-year-old Jedorah Powell, 43-year-old Mollian Johnson and 25-year-old Kaylyn Samuel by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Jonathan Darden, 42, is suspected of shooting them before taking his own life, officials said.

Police said Darden was dating Johnson, who was the children’s grandmother. Samuel was their mother, and all five of them lived in the apartment.

A motive is unclear at this time, police said. Detectives continue to investigate the incident.