"Ongoing illicit activity" precipitated Saturday evening's shooting of a Union City couple and their two teen sons, police say.
"Evidence and information discovered during the investigation suggests the residents were targeted specifically and this was not a random act," Union City Police Detective Gloria Hodgson said in a statement released late Monday morning.
A makeshift memorial sits in front of the split-level south Fulton home where Shannon and Conswellow Bell lost their lives. Their two sons, ages 12 and 19, were clinging to life when police and emergency crews arrived at the home a little after 11 p.m. Relatives say the brothers are in critical condition following multiple surgeries at Grady Memorial Hospital and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston.
Their father, 35, was released from state prison in August 2002 after serving a one-year sentence on drug charges, according to state Department of Corrections records. Police say they've uncovered evidence of illicit activity inside the home at 4679 Tartan Court though they would not provide details.
Family members' claims of a forced entry are incorrect, Hodgson said.
Neighbors in the Shannon Glenn subdivision, located off Flat Shoals Road, had little to say about the Bells, particularly after word spread of the alleged motive for the shooting. Those who would talk said the family was quiet and kept to themselves.
The Bells moved into the neighborhood only last year, according to public records.
--Staff writer Fran Jeffries contributed to this article.
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