Violence shattered the peace in DeKalb County this past week, with two shootings that left the community on edge. In the first incident, a 37-year-old man, Kevin Johnson, was arrested for allegedly opening fire on a vehicle on Covington Highway. The shooting took place near Young Road in Decatur, early Friday morning. Officers responded to the 5700 block of Covington Highway around 6:22 a.m., after receiving reports of shots fired, FOX 5 Atlanta reported. A 23-year-old man claimed that Johnson shot at his vehicle as he was driving away from a BP gas station, luckily escaping injury. After a brief manhunt, the shooter was located, detained, and charged with aggravated assault.
The second incident occurred a few days earlier, on Wednesday, and ended in death, and tragedy. Authorities were called to the Windward Forest Apartments on Hillandale Drive, following a shooting that resulted in one fatality and left another person critically wounded. Police arrived at the 2600 block of Embarcadero Drive, where they discovered the victims. As the surviving victim fights for life in the hospital, the community grapples with the sobering reality, that the area is not as safe as once believed. Investigators have identified the suspect as 44-year-old Javoka Shumaker, who, despite being the leading person of interest in this violent act, remains at large, according to 11Alive.
As DeKalb County reckons with these incidents, authorities have indicated that there seems to be a personal connection between the shooters and their targets. The DeKalb County Police Department stated the encounter at the apartment complex "was not random," and that Shumaker knew the victims. The police are urging anyone with information on Shumaker's whereabouts to come forward.
