HAMPTON, Ga. — Police are working around the clock to identify whomever it was who opened fire inside a house party in Clayton County over the weekend– killing a young father, while he was trying to protect his two sisters from assault.
Quintavious Jones, 24, was, according to his family, running into a fight that had broken out among several people at the house party, as he was trying to save his two sisters from harm, and someone shot him in the back.
Monday, his mother spoke of the moment Saturday night, at the family's home in Hampton, which turned out to be the last time she saw him.
Quintavious Jones, a proud father of a three-year-old boy, had just fixed his son dinner.
And he was telling his son goodnight.
“And he kissed my grandson on his forehead,” Tomika Jones said. “And said, ‘I love you, Dad will be back. Daddy coming back.’ He never came back.”
Tomika Jones fought back tears as she spoke of that moment.
“He never came back," she said.
Quintavious Jones had gone to a party with his sisters at a house in Hampton, in Clayton County, about four miles from their home.
And at about 3:00 a.m. Sunday, there was a fight, and Jones’ mother said she’s since learned that her son ran toward the fight to save his two sisters.
“They said my son came in to try to break it up,” Ms.Jones said. “And that's when a man with a white T-shirt on, and dreds, came out of nowhere with a gun and shot. They said a guy came from nowhere and started shooting.”
He fired at least three gunshots, she said, wounding two people, including the proud father with the smile for everyone, who everyone called “Tay,” who worked hard helping support his family, and who loved to rap– Morrow High School, Class of 2016.
Tay had been shot in the back protecting his sisters and died later at the hospital.
Now, Tay’s big and close family– including his son’s mother, and his younger brother, Jaquwon Jones, and their mother – said Monday that Clayton County police are telling them that no one at the party admits to seeing anything, no one has come forward to help ID the shooter.
“Y'all know what y'all did. Y’all done took me,” said Jaquwon, as if speaking to those involved. “They done took part of my soul, Man, that’s my whole soul."
When 11Alive went to the house Monday evening, the man who answered the door declined to comment.
The house does have a doorbell camera that Tay’s family hopes might have recorded video of everyone coming and going, to help police.
Tomika Jones set up an online fundraiser to help with funeral expenses and to help support her grandson, pleading for people who have information that could help ID who killed her son to come forward.
“Somebody knows something,” she said. "I think it’s a dream, but it’s not. I’m hoping to wake up out of these dreams.”
Clayton County investigators are asking anyone who has information to contact the Clayton County Police Department at (770) 477-3550 or call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.