GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A stray bullet from a teen shootout flew into a neighbor’s home Monday evening as a 17-year-old was killed in a Gwinnett County neighborhood near Lawrenceville.
Police say the shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday on Barrett Bluff Drive by the community pool. Officers found Damonta Sears injured from the shooting. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Neighbors told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson that they had no idea what was happening at first.
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“We just came inside, and then we hear a very loud sound,” said Esther Ford, whose home was struck by a stray bullet. “We never experienced that before, so we didn’t know that was a gunshot.”
Ford said she did not realize a bullet had entered her home until her daughter noticed damage inside.
“She said, ‘Mommy, look. We didn’t have that hole before,’” Ford said. “It came through the garage, crossed another room, and stopped in the middle of the house.”
No one inside the home was hurt.
Police say the violence began when Sears arrived with Olvy Calvo-Martinez, 17, and Zaire Craig, 16, to rob two people during a planned drug deal involving vape cartridges. Investigators say a shootout broke out between the two groups.
Luis Hernandez-Moreno, 17, an alleged seller, was also shot multiple times but survived.
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Neighbors described the scene as shocking for an area known for being quiet.
“This neighborhood is a peaceful one,” said Henry Durrant, who has lived in the community since 2017. “I’ve never heard of something like this happening here.”
Calvo-Martinez was arrested and charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, multiple gang-related charges and more.
Craig faces similar charges, including felony murder, which under Georgia law allows prosecutors to charge everyone involved in an alleged violent felony with murder if someone is killed during the crime.
Police also arrested 21-year-old Aldair Hernandez-Moreno and Luis Hernandez-Moreno, the alleged sellers. Both are charged with felony murder along with drug and weapons charges.
For neighbors like Ford, the bullet inside her wall still feels unreal.
“If we stayed outside five minutes longer,” she said, “what would have happened with our kids?”
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