Tuesday's double shooting that left one man dead and a woman injured in south Fulton County was a family affair, police say.
Steve Austin, the 20-year-old who was arrested and charged with homicide soon after the incident, is accused of killing his uncle and wounding his mother, Fulton County Police Officer Scott McBride told the AJC.
"They're all related, and it's my understanding they all lived in the same house," McBride said.
Austin's uncle, 42-year-old Benjamin Henderson, was upstairs eating with his wife when the first shot was fired, McBride said. The officer said Austin shot his 41-year-old mother, Melody Darden, in the arm.
Henderson went downstairs and was mortally wounded after wrestling wtih Austin, McBride said. He said Austin shot his uncle in the right shoulder with a 0.22-cal. rifle.
The incident occurred in a neighborhood near Interstate 85 between Union City and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Austin fled the house, which is in the 6000 block of Birdseye Trail near Buffington Road, and was later arrested at a relative's house in DeKalb County, McBride said, adding that a relative turned him in.
Austin was charged with homicide and two counts of aggravated assault and taken to the Fulton County Jail. Records show that he was in the jail earlier this month in connection with another crime: On Jan. 5, he was admitted to the jail and released on a $1,000 bond on a shoplifting charge.
A Fulton County Police report of the incident accuses Austin of trying to steal $62.64 worth of goods from a Wal-Mart Supercenter on Old National Highway last July.
Austin put groceries from a cart into Wal-Mart bags and walked past cashiers but was stopped by store security, the police report said. "Mr. Austin stated that he was just trying to get some food and that he did not have any money," the report said.
