DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A late night shooting at the Summit Hill Apartments on Bouldercrest Road has left a family devastated, mourning the loss of a second son in just a matter of months.
Sixteen-year-old Andre Fortson - identified by the medical examiner's office -- was killed in a shooting at the DeKalb County apartment complex Tuesday night. Police responded to the scene around 9:50 p.m., where they discovered the teen with a gunshot wound in a breezeway.
Kiara Moore, a close friend of the family, shared her grief and frustration over the violence that claimed Andre Fortson's life.
“I just, I just want the young, the young guys, to put the guns down,” Moore said. “It always be the innocent ones. Always.”
Andre was a friend of Moore’s younger brother, and over time, she grew close to him as well. She no longer lives at the complex where the shooting took place, but she said Andre and her brother would occasionally get together there with other friends.
“When I first met Andre, he was a cool kid. He used to talk smack to me. I talked sweat back to him. Me and him always get on his butt about going to school,” Moore reminisced.
The tragedy compounds the heartbreak the Fortson family is already feeling. In May, Andre’s older brother, U.S. Airman Roger Fortson, was shot and killed by a Florida sheriff’s deputy. Andre had sat in the front row of the church, mourning his brother, and now their mother faces the unimaginable task of burying another son.
“I know she's taking this very hard,” Moore said, reflecting on the family's grief.
The community is rallying around the Fortsons, hoping to find ways to prevent further tragedies and urging young people to put down their guns.
As DeKalb County police continue their investigation, family and friends of the Fortsons are left to cope with their loss and seek justice for the teen.