EAST POINT, Ga. — An East Point mother says she and her six children are moving out of their home after a deadly drive-by shooting sent bullets flying through the house and killed a man who was helping repair a lawnmower.
The shooting happened April 13 on Ben Hill Road.
This weekend, East Point police arrested 19-year-old Amari Martin and charged him with murder in the death of Amondre Michael Zepeda.
Channel 2 Action News previously obtained Martin’s arrest warrants.
Investigators say they linked Martin to the shooting through cellphone records, a rental vehicle and ballistic evidence recovered in a separate case.
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According to the warrants, Zepeda was helping a friend fix a lawnmower when a vehicle approached. Witnesses told police they heard people laughing inside the vehicle moments before gunfire erupted. Zepeda was shot in the head and another man was shot in the hand. Zepeda died three days later at the hospital.
Channel 2’s Michael Seiden spoke exclusively with homeowner Arlana Johnson, who said she was cooking in the back of the house while Zepeda and her friend worked on the lawnmower outside.
“I was thinking someone had shot off fireworks. I wasn’t thinking that my children were in the house running to the back way of the house,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the gunfire continued for several seconds.
“Someone just pulled up and started shooting,” she said.
According to Martin’s arrest warrants, at least 20 rounds were fired during the attack. Investigators say several of those bullets struck the home while children between the ages of 3 and 13 were inside.
Martin faces multiple counts of first-degree cruelty to children.
Johnson said the bullets narrowly missed her children.
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“My children were just laying on the ground trying to get away from the bullets,” she said.
She said the damage inside the home serves as a constant reminder of what happened.
“All of their TVs had bullet holes inside of them,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she rushed outside after the gunfire and tried to help Zepeda before paramedics arrived.
“I’m so sorry for your loss and I did the best I could to help keep him alive,” she said.
More than two months after the shooting, Johnson says her family remains traumatized and is preparing to move.
East Point police have not said whether investigators are searching for any additional suspects.
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