UPDATE: 15-year-old Gwinnett teen victim of apparent drug deal gone bad
Gwinnett County police said Tuesday night’s fatal shooting of a 15-year-old appears to be the result of a drug deal gone awry.
“Detectives stated they think it was some kind of drug transaction,” said GCPD spokesman Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle, adding he did not know “the level of the victim’s involvement” in the apparent narcotics buy.
Officers were sent to Bernice Drive near Lawrenceville about 7:30 p.m. after a 911 caller reported the gunfire, Winderweedle said. The caller indicated someone at the scene took the victim to the hospital. Police called local hospitals and alerted them that a gunshot victim would arrive soon.
“Shortly after arriving on scene officers were made aware that a juvenile male had arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound,” Winderweedle said. “That juvenile died in the hospital.”
The teen’s identity has not yet been disclosed by police.
Police said he was standing near or in the street when he was hit.
No arrests have been made in the case, and police have not named any suspects. An investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact police at 770-513-5300. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
About the Authors
A native Atlantan, Boone joined the AJC staff in 2007. He quickly carved out a niche covering crime stories, assuming the public safety beat in 2014. He's covered some of the biggest trials this decade, from Hemy Neuman to Ross Harris to Chip Olsen, the latter of which was featured on Season 7 of the AJC's award-winning "Breakdown" podcast.
Tanni Deb, a Michigan native, is a content producer for the AJC, primarily covering breaking news, crime and public safety. After graduating from Northwestern University, she worked as a TV reporter before producing long-form feature videos on business trends across Africa.
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
