SANDY SPRINGS, GA (February 23, 2022) – The Sandy Springs Police Department (SSPD) has made an arrest following an investigation of persons shooting a pellet gun at pedestrians from a moving vehicle.
Incident:
Yesterday (Tuesday February 22, 2022) at 4:30 PM, SSPD officers responded to the area of Johnson Ferry Road at Bonnie Lane after receiving a call from a victim that had just been shot multiple times with a pellet-gun by the occupants of a moving vehicle. The victim was able to provide officers with a detailed description of the vehicle (Sports Utility Vehicle) and provided a direction of travel. The victim informed the officers that he heard at least five (5) shots and was subsequently struck multiple times. The shots contained such a force that caused the victim to fall to the ground when he was hit. As a result of this incident, the victim received 3 shots to his body, causing visible injuries. The victim was treated by EMS at the scene and released.
As officers were still investigating this incident, our dispatch center received a 911 call from another victim who had just been shot with a pellet-gun by the occupants of a Sports Utility Vehicle in the area of Wieuca Road near Dudley Lane within the City of Atlanta. Based on the information obtained from our victim, our Intelligence Unit was able to quickly identify the vehicle and started to track it. Soon after the second shooting, SSPD Officers spotted the vehicle travelling in the area of Roswell Road and Windsor Parkway. A traffic stop was conducted and both occupants were taken into custody without issue. Our officers collaborated with the Atlanta Police Department and provided them with the identities of the two suspects and vehicle information to assist with their investigation.
During the traffic stop, officers spotted two (2) rifle-style weapons in plain view along with a large amount of pellets. After inspecting the rifles, officers were able to determine them to be pellet “air rifles.” The two suspects were taken to SSPD headquarters for an interview with Detectives. Pursuant to the evidence located in the vehicle, the victim’s identification of the suspects, and the interviews with detectives, both suspects were charged with aggravated assault, battery, and being in possession of fraudulent identification cards.
The identity and booking photos of the two 18-year-old suspects are being withheld as we believe there may be additional victims. By withholding their identity and pictures, we will preserve the integrity of the investigation as potential victim’s might have to view a photo line-up of the suspects for identification purposes.
This investigation is on-going and additional charges are possible. If anyone has any information on this case or believes that they were a victim, please contact Detective Morgan at WMorgan@SandySpringsGa.Gov or your local police department where the incident occurred.
