Second Suspect Charged in Edgewood Avenue Mass Shooting That Killed Sweet Auburn Father

A second man has been charged with murder in the mass shooting that killed a 27-year-old father and wounded 10 others outside a Sweet Auburn nightlife strip more than a year ago. Nasir Williams was arrested Monday and is now held in the Fulton County Jail, charged with one count of murder and 10 counts of aggravated assault in connection with the July 28, 2025 shooting on Edgewood Avenue.

According to WSB-TV, FBI Atlanta identified Williams as one of the shooters and says he is also being held on unrelated warrants out of Clayton, DeKalb and Henry counties, according to jail records. As reported by 11Alive, Williams was taken into custody on August 24 by the FBI Atlanta Violent Crime Task Force, with help from the Atlanta Police Department and Sandy Springs Police — more than a year after the mass shooting that shook the historic corridor.

The shooting broke out after two rival gangs argued and then returned to the area and opened fire, per WSB-TV's account. Bystanders ran as gunfire erupted along Edgewood Avenue, and Atlanta Police investigators later recovered 34 shell casings and multiple firearms at the scene outside 349 Edgewood Avenue SE, near a busy streetcar stop in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood, the same 11Alive report notes.

A Father Lost, a Grandmother Left to Raise His Son

Santos Wyatt, 27, was killed in the shooting. His mother, Colandra Atkinson, said Wyatt was heading home when someone began shooting, per WSB-TV's reporting. Wyatt's death left Atkinson as the sole caregiver for his 8-year-old son, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Ten other people were wounded, ranging in age from 18 to 29, including an 18-year-old man who was critically injured. All ten were treated at Grady Memorial Hospital, per 11Alive's reporting on the case.

First Arrest Came During a Statewide Fugitive Sweep

The first suspect charged in the shooting, Rico Arnold, was arrested and charged with one count of murder and 10 counts of aggravated assault in 2025, according to WSB-TV. Arnold, who was 19 at the time, was apprehended during a traffic stop in Clayton County in September 2025 as part of Operation No Escape, a six-week federal and local fugitive sweep, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta. That operation ultimately produced 177 fugitive arrests across Georgia, including 28 homicide suspects, with more than 100 of those arrests made within metro Atlanta.

A third suspect has not been publicly named and remains at large, according to FBI Atlanta. The agency has said it will release more details about that suspect in the coming days.

Sweet Auburn Pushed for Change After the Bloodshed

The shooting's scale — one dead, 10 wounded, dozens of rounds fired on a crowded public corridor — set off months of policy debate even as Atlanta's overall homicide count kept falling. The city recorded 98 homicides in 2025, dropping below 100 for the first time since 2019 and down from 126 in 2024, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In the shooting's aftermath, Atlanta City Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari formed the Edgewood Corridor Public Safety Task Force, which met for five months before delivering a final report in January with 10 priority safety recommendations, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. Hoodline previously reported on Bakhtiari's follow-up safety push after the task force wrapped its work.

City leaders also floated a 180-day moratorium on new liquor license applications along the Edgewood Avenue corridor, a measure that would exclude existing business renewals and special event permits. But the proposal faced legislative delays and remained under committee review as of June, according to WSB-TV's reporting at the time, as the council weighed nightlife economics against public safety demands.

Faith leaders in Sweet Auburn, including clergy from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and National Divine Spiritual Church, had petitioned in August 2025 for a dedicated police mini-precinct at Selena Butler Park, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The push reflected an effort by local leaders to balance support for area businesses with resident safety in the wake of the shooting.

The Edgewood corridor has seen further gunfire since the mass shooting, including a February arrest tied to a threat to shoot people outside a club and an Easter shooting that wounded two men, both previously reported by Hoodline. With one suspect still unidentified and at large, the case remains open even as Williams joins Arnold in facing murder charges for the deadliest night on the strip.