GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 15-year-old boy was killed in Gwinnett County Thursday after police say his mother shot him and then turned the gun on herself. Officers are investigating it as an apparent murder-suicide.
Late Thursday afternoon, police identified the mother as 52-year-old Nicole Strother and her son as 15-year-old Alexander Postell. Officers say there was a third person in the Loganville home, the boy's older sister who woke up to the sound of gunshots and found them.
Neighbors say they are devastated that this happened.
“I heard my mom screaming this morning because she saw the homicide tape and she saw a bunch of police officers and ambulances,” said Malikah David who lives a few houses away from where this happened on Bay Crest Court.
She said Strother and Postell had lived in the neighborhood for about four years.
“Everyone was so startled because this is a very, very quiet neighborhood," said David.
Gwinnett County police said they got the call around 9 a.m. Thursday.
“A family member heard a gunshot and woke up and located her mother deceased and her brother suffering from a gunshot wound," said Gwinnett County Police Corporal Ryan Winderweedle.
Investigators said Postell later died at the hospital. Winderweedle said it appears the mother shot her son before dying by suicide.
David said she occasionally saw the Strother in the yard and at neighborhood get togethers.
"She was telling me how she’s a nurse and it was her and her son," said David. "We’ve never seen any suspicious behavior or anything of that nature - honestly, they’ve been a quiet family."
Police said they don't know why this happened.
"We have no motive yet, nothing behind the circumstances that would have caused this incident," said Winderweedle.
David said the incident will have a lasting impact on the neighborhood.
"So this is such a big shocker, super devastating for everyone here," said David.
Gwinnett County Police said they don’t recall any other calls to this home since at least as far back as January 2021.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255.