Ten people, including three 16-year-olds, have been arrested in Gwinnett County and accused of alleged gang activity following a months-long investigation into two shootings, police announced Tuesday.
The investigation began in mid-August when officers got a call about shots being fired on Brookdale Drive, a short, dead-end road in a Sugar Hill neighborhood. They found multiple homes with bullet holes and discovered that the shooting stemmed from a gang-related dispute tied to a previous shooting that took place about four miles away on Circle View Drive, department spokesperson Officer Hideshi Valle said in a news release.
Bullet holes can still be seen in the two-story home that was targeted at the end of a cul-de-sac, Channel 2 Action News footage showed. A few shots pierced the garage door and one went through a second-story window.
A second home just up the street also took gunfire, the news station reported, adding that one bullet hit a bedframe, narrowly missing a man as he slept.
Investigators believe Khamani Semaj Rhodes, 18, of Sugar Hill, was a victim in one of the shootings, Valle said. Several days later, Rhodes was driving in the area when he saw one of the people he suspected of shooting at his home, she said. He and another person, 19-year-old Willie Taylor of Buford, allegedly shot several rounds into the other person’s vehicle.
Police did not respond to a request to clarify the timeline of the shootings or if anyone was injured in either case.
Six arrests were made in connection with the shootings, police said. The investigation also led to additional arrests tied to other crimes, with investigators obtaining 73 felony warrants for charges ranging from aggravated assault and armed robbery to drug and illegal gun possession. Most of the suspects also face charges related to gang activity, police said.
“The Gwinnett Police Department’s priority is the safety of its residents,” Valle said. “Gang violence in our community will not be tolerated, nor will any activity that threatens the quality of life of our residents. Gun violence or any violence that harms the safety of our citizens and visitors are unacceptable.”
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