Two people were killed and two others, including the suspect, were injured in a shooting in a DeKalb County neighborhood near Stone Mountain early Tuesday morning, according to officials.
The shooting happened around 3 a.m. in the Cedar Park Place neighborhood off North Hairston Road, where investigators roped off an expansive crime scene for much of the morning while they collected evidence.
Initially, a man was found with a gunshot wound near the intersection of Kelton Drive and Cedar Park Way and taken to a hospital, according to DeKalb police. His condition was not released. Two other victims, Twayne Worthy and Deenay Munford, both 36, were then located farther down Cedar Park Way. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Eight hours later, a fourth victim was found at a hospital with gunshot wounds to his legs, police said. His condition was not released, and investigators are still working to determine his involvement in the incident, which they said appears to be drug-related.
By Wednesday, police had identified the first victim, 32-year-old Brandon Johnson, as the alleged shooter. He is facing felony murder charges.
Neighbors gathered Tuesday morning to speculate and shake their heads in collective disgust over the persistent violence that has shaped their community.
“This is nothing new,” said Amos King, who considers himself a community activist and described the North Hairston Road and Central Drive corridor as “one of the most deadly areas of DeKalb County.”
Quincy Vinson, who has lived in the Cedar Park Place neighborhood for four years, said his family was jolted from a dead sleep when two gunshots rang out. A few minutes later, they heard 10 more.
“We weren’t sure what was going on,” he said. “We got to the kids, got them all set in a safe place and we just hunkered down ... It was just unbelievable to hear that so close to your house.”
Vinson and his wife, Latoya, said they regularly hear gunshots, including one incident just a few days ago. Latoya Vinson said she and her neighbors heard a woman arguing with a man in the street before a shot was fired and the man ran away.
The homicide scene Tuesday morning appeared to involve the same house, she said.
“From the domestic disputes that have been happening, on to what happened last night, to me, it makes me feel like that it’s all connected,” she said. “Because the police were always in the same area. It’s always around the same people.”
The violence has become too much for the Vinson family, and they are considering a move to a safer area in Henry County. Too often, they send their son to school sleepy after enduring the gunshots and sirens from the night before.
The problem is not unique to their neighborhood, Latoya Vinson said.
“Everything is an argument these days,” she said. “Unfortunately, it ended in somebody dead, or somebody going to jail and then kids are again without parents, without love, without concern. It’s just really sad.”
King said he hopes the talk among neighbors will lead to action. While he would like to see more police presence, or even the installation of a new police precinct in the area, King doesn’t think that’s the only solution. The community needs to band together, he said.
“That’s what’s got to happen,” he said, frustrated. “These people know who’s selling weed and dope in their area, and they don’t say nothing. It’s one of the major problems. Until it comes close to you, then it’s a problem.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call DeKalb police at 770-724-7850.
— Staff writer Chelsea Prince contributed to this article.
