Police trying to ID 2 others possibly involved in deadly shooting of 3 teens

ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office asked for the public’s help Thursday in identifying two others who may have been involved in the deadly shooting of three teenagers.

But the sheriff’s office released no description of the two and declined to say how they allegedly were involved.

“The investigation is ongoing,” Deputy Lee Thomas said in an emailed statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Details cannot be provided to assure creditable information is being provided on the persons we are looking for.”

Early Monday, a Rockdale homeowner shot and killed three teenagers during an alleged robbery attempt, according to police.

The teens exchanged gunfire with the homeowner on White Oak Court, near Conyers, the sheriff’s office previously said. The teens’ faces were covered when they approached the home and attempted to rob three people in the front yard, according to Thomas.

No charges have been filed in the case, which remains under investigation. The homeowner has not been identified.

According to the initial incident report, which was released late Wednesday, multiple people called 911 to report hearing gunfire. Deputies arrived to find one teen face-down on the ground, lying on a Glock handgun, the report states. The boy was wearing a hoodie with a shirt over it, and the hoodie was tied around his face, according to police.

Deputies then found a second boy on the ground in a nearby cul-de-sac. He was bleeding from his head and had an orange bandanna tied over his face, according to police.

On Wednesday, Rockdale Coroner George Levett identified the boys as Isaiah Reed, Jamie Hernandez and Brandon Gresham. Reed and Hernandez were brothers, Levett said. Wednesday night, hundreds in the community gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember the three.

According to legal experts, the homeowner may have been justified in shooting the three under Georgia’s “stand your ground” law. The law allows for a person to use deadly force if they feel their life or someone else’s life or their property is in danger, according to Russell Covey, a Georgia State University law professor.

Attorney Pat Dutcher, a former Fulton County prosecutor, agreed, but said more facts are needed for the investigators to determine whether the homeowner’s actions were justified.

“There would be a question in the prosecutors’ office of whether or not it went too far,” Dutcher said Thursday.

Cox Media Group