Police and city leaders expressed bewilderment Monday after a Georgia State University student was killed and six others were injured during a LaGrange house party shooting over the weekend.
“This should never have happened,” Mayor Jim Arrington said during a news conference alongside city police officials. “The violence we witnessed is absolutely senseless and has shaken the community, and it must stop.”
The gunfire erupted at about 1 a.m. Sunday in the 100 block of Seminary Street, where officers found seven people suffering from gunshot wounds. The victims were taken to Wellstar West Georgia Medical Center in LaGrange to be treated. Police said 19-year-old Javeon Dukes died shortly after getting there.
Dukes was a junior at Georgia State, a spokesperson confirmed. The university did not have any other details about his time at the school.
On Monday, LaGrange police Maj. Dale Strickland said the chain of events started a few hours earlier Saturday when police broke up a large party by Cameron Mill Road near the access to West Point Lake in Troup County. Officers working a crime suppression detail responded to complaints at the party, causing the more than 100 attendees to flee the area and head toward LaGrange, Strickland said.
“So our officers knew there would be likely different spots or areas around town that they would need to watch out for based on the large crowd,“ Strickland said. ”Within 30 minutes, that was in fact the case."
Strickland said officers then responded to a parking lot at Granger Park, where some attendees were hanging out. Officers told them the lot would be closing, so they left the gathering on North Greenwood Street.
About 30 minutes later, officers again got a call about loud music at an apartment complex on Commerce Avenue. Nearly five dozen people, many of whom were believed to have been at the original party, were asked to leave, and they complied, Strickland said. By 10:30 p.m., police broke up another gathering of about 50 people at a park on Jones Street.
“At that time, I guess the individuals knew the officers were there to tell them to leave,” he said. “When they pulled up, these individuals actually left the area.”
Just after midnight, officers were working the zone that included Seminary Street when they started to see a large number of cars that were blocking the street for a party. They reached an agreement with the homeowner to keep things quiet, and there were no significant issues, police said, outside of a few people with open alcohol containers.
But within three minutes of officers leaving, they reported hearing gunshots in the area.
The department had about five more officers than usual working that night as they were trying to suppress crime in the area. Strickland said they were there to ensure the attendees had a good time, and they had “no idea there would be a shooting there.”
Some officers took the injured to the hospital after the gunfire, he said.
“We are sorry for what happened. We are shocked,” Strickland said. “We want to make sure we located these individuals and hold them accountable.”
On Monday, officials said they were continuing to work to determine the identities of those involved and the circumstances surrounding the incident. About half the department’s detective division was helping on the case, Strickland said.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact police at 706-883-2684. Those looking to submit tips can do so anonymously via the Tip411 system by using the mobile app, accessing the online portal or texting **LAGRANGE** to 847411.
Staff writer Jason Armesto contributed to this article.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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