With a swimming pool, playground tennis and basketball courts at the entry, a Gwinnett County neighborhood invites potential homeowners to take a look at the $300,000 homes.
It also brings strangers to the neighborhood who treat the area as a public park. Investigators said Wednesday neither the man fatally shot near the tennis courts Tuesday nor the shooter lived in the River Stone neighborhood.
At 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to the area of Bridge Walk Drive and Oak Road, near Lawrenceville and Ronald Reagan Parkway, following a “shots fired” call, Cpl. Ed Ritter with Gwinnett police said.
While searching the area, officers found the body of a male on the ground near tennis courts, Ritter said.
On Wednesday, the victim was identified as Rashad Jones, 22, of Lawrenceville. But the alleged shooter remained on the loose as investigators continued to interview witnesses and potential suspects, according to police.
Investigators believe Jones and the alleged shooter had planned to meet at the neighborhood park to discuss a rip-off scam they were involved with, but police declined to release the specifics. One of the people involved may have been there to collect money, Ritter said.
But a fight broke out between two groups and Jones was shot, according to police. Jones also had a gun, but it was unloaded, police said.
On Wednesday, one of Jones’ friends told Channel 2 Action News that Jones wasn’t into trouble and just enjoyed hanging out.
“Normally we just play basketball over there,” Daniel Dupuis said. “We’re not trying to get in any trouble and stuff like this don’t need to be happening.”
But Clementine Keen, who lives in the neighborhood, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she and other residents have repeatedly asked those who don’t live there to leave.
“We as the neighbors have come up and asked people to leave because it is for residents only,” said Keen, who walks her dog in the area.
Crowds are often gathered in the area, sometimes leaving behind trash and drug paraphernalia, Keen said. Neighbors have requested extra police patrol in the area, she said.
“We just all feared something would happen,” Keen said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Gwinnett police.
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