A deadly quadruple shooting at a Forest Park motorcycle gathering last month stemmed from a territory dispute between rival gangs, police said Tuesday, adding that the suspects are the two men who survived being shot.
The April 27 gathering drew nearly 200 people to an unlicensed Forest Park commercial site on 1st Street near Jones Road. Police Chief Brandon Criss said an argument broke out between rival motorcycle gangs “Outcast” and “Wheels of Soul,” and the fight escalated to gunfire.
Two people were killed, and two others were seriously injured.
Police said Donnell McKnight, also known as “1HQ,” and Nigel Blackwood, who goes by “Railroad,” have been released from the hospital and now face charges of malice murder and violation of the Georgia Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act. They are both Outcast members, Criss said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
McKnight is in custody at the Clayton County jail, while Blackwood is at large. He’d been discharged from the hospital before police obtained warrants for his arrest, Criss said.
The Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club is based in Philadelphia, according to the FBI. The group claims to be the “largest mixed-race ‘outlaw’ motorcycle club in the United States,” according to the federal agency.
At least one of the men who died, Anthony Hearns, is known to have been from that city. Isaiah Mack, 25, was also killed. His hometown was not shared, but Forest Park police said both men were members of Wheels of Soul.
“(Wheels of Soul) are trying to establish their presence here inside of Georgia,” Criss said. “The Outcast motorcycle gang is a known motorcycle gang here in Georgia — in the Atlanta metro area — and from my understanding, they don’t want to give up their territory, and that’s kind of what led to this altercation.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Outcast has a large presence in Georgia. The club’s second chapter was formed in Atlanta after its 1967 inception in Detroit, according to the state attorney general’s office.
In June 2023, the Georgia AG’s office announced a multicount indictment against 16 alleged members of the Outcast Motorcycle Club under the street gang act. It was the largest such case against a single club in state history,and remains pending.
The feud between the Outcasts and Wheels of Soul has been long-standing. In 2014, for example, the FBI said several Outcast members showed up to a clubhouse belonging to a third motorcycle club, Showstoppers, in Birmingham, Alabama, and opened fire. Members of both the Wheels of Soul and Showstoppers clubs were killed.
A Conyers man was arrested a few days later, according to the news site AL.com, but was acquitted in 2016.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
It’s not clear what type of business was operating at the Forest Park site where the riders gathered the day of the shooting, but records show the location previously has been associated with a towing company. A sign on the facade advertises an auto shop, but the website and phone number listed are not operational.
The city of Forest Park issued numerous citations to those associated with the address, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The property owner has been served with a cease-and-desist order to ensure the site does not reopen, Criss said.
“Don’t commit violence here in the city of Forest Park,” the chief said. “It won’t be tolerated. We will work tirelessly to bring any and all of those who commit crimes in our city to justice.”
Criss added that he expects to make additional arrests.
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