BUTTS COUNTY, Ga. -- Two teen suspects are in custody for the shooting death of a Griffin, Ga. teen attending a graduation party, authorities say.
Early Saturday morning, 16-year-old Cederrius Hastings and three others were shot in a drive-by shooting while at a Butts County home. Hastings later died from his injuries, while two of the three other victims seemed to be improving.
Officials with the Butts County Sheriff's Office say two 19-year-old males were arrested at about 3:30 Monday morning in connection with the shooting.
Gemarius "Gee" Oneal from Griffin and Christopher "Ray Ray" Walker from Flovilla are both charged with Murder, Aggravated Assault and Possession of a Firearm. They are being held in Butts County Jail.
In a news conference Monday evening, Butts County Sheriff Gary Long said that along with Oneal and Walker at least two other arrests are expected in connection with the shooting. Long said investigators had identified shell casings from at least four handguns at the party, and that Hastings and the persons who were wounded were all bystanders to the altercation.
Long described the incident as an escalating altercation between a group of athletes from Jackson High School and a group of athletes from Griffin High School who were at a party for a girl who had transferred from Griffin High to Jackson High. The people involved had planned to fight at midnight, which, Long said, led to the exchange of gunfire.
News of Hastings' death shook the community.
“This community is hurting," Hastings's football coach Antonio Andrews told 11Alive's Chris Hopper. "He’s a very, very good kid, and he’ll truly be missed.”
Family and friends plan to gather Monday night at Red Dirt Park in Griffin at 8:30 p.m. for a vigil.
PHOTOS | Cederrius Hastings
PHOTOS | Cederrius Hastings
CRIME NEWS | Mugshot Photos
