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'It just all went mayhem,' as innocent bystander injured in deadly shooting

By Carl Willis
By Carl Willis

VILLA RICA, Ga. — Police say a fight between two people ended with one man dead and an innocent bystander shot in the face.

Channel 2's Carl Willis learned the man was across the street when a bullet hit him.

Police were still trying to gather evidence at the scene in Villa Rica when Willis arrived Monday evening.

Investigators said the injured man had nothing to do with the shootout but still ended up in the hospital.

Travis Shivers was standing on the sidewalk on Cleghorn Street in Villa Rica when a bullet hit him in the jaw.

"I was crying all the way to the hospital," mother Inez Shivers told Willis.

Inez Shivers said she got the call and didn't know what to expect. She later learned that her son was hit by a shot that strayed from a shootout.

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"I just don't understand it," Inez Shivers said.

Villa Rica police are working to understand it themselves.

They said Marko Burton, 36, and Julius Walker, 31, had a dispute earlier in the day that carried over to a confrontation in the middle of a neighborhood.

"We were all being friendly and it just all went mayhem,” neighbor Zy Styles said.

"Everybody just took off running," neighbor Kya Styles said.

Police said Burton stopped his car near a tree and jumped out with a gun in his hands.

“Burton points his gun at him, Walker pulls his gun out they exchange gunfire,” Capt. Keith Shaddix of the Villa Rica Police Department told Willis.

After about 10 shots between them, Burton was killed, and Shivers, the bystander across the street, was hit. Police don't know which of the shooters hit him.

"They could have just handled it on their own, but they got everyone else involved," said Zy Styles.

"They weren't just standing still shooting. They were both moving around so it's possible that either one could have accidentally shot the bystander. We just don't know yet," Shaddix said.

But police said it appears Walker may have been acting in self-defense and because of that, he may not be charged even if he's the one who accidentally shot the bystander.

Meanwhile, that man's mother says he is home recovering and is expected to be OK.

"It's going to be all right because we have the Lord on our side," Inez Shivers said.

Police say it appears the incident started because Burton was allegedly upset about Walker driving past his house.

Police would still like to hear from any other witnesses.

Cox Media Group

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