Victims killed in mass shooting at Georgia block party identified - USA Today
Officials have released the identities of two people killed in a Oct. 4 mass shooting at a neighborhood block party in Georgia that left dozens more injured.
Ja’Quavion Aderious Jackson, 21, of Cordele, Georgia, and Macaleb Malik Jackson, 23, of Hawkinsville, Georgia, died in the early morning shooting in Vienna, Georgia, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Thirty-five others were injured when shots were fired at the block party on Pine Street at around 1:25 a.m. local time. Deputies from the Dooly County Sheriff's Office who were on patrol at the gathering responded immediately and found "multiple people" had been shot, including the two who were pronounced dead at the scene, GBI said.
The investigation into the incident is still active and ongoing. GBI Director Chris Hosey said at an Oct. 4 news conference that officials were conducting interviews and didn't anticipate any threat to the public.
"We don't want to presume anything as to what caused it. The goal right now is to identify those involved and and gather as much information as we can on the investigation," Hosey said.
GBI told USA TODAY on Oct. 5 that it does not have any further updates to share.
Here's what we know so far about the shooting.
The injured range in age from 14 to 51 and are in varying conditions at area hospitals, Dooly County Sheriff Craig Peavy said at the Oct. 4 news conference.
Peavy told reporters earlier on Oct. 4 that some victims were hit by gunfire and others were hit by vehicles as they were fleeing from the area. He estimated there were more than 1,000 people scrambling away from the scene after gunfire broke out.
Hosey said at the news conference that "the majority" of those injured were gunshot victims.
"The initial incident by all accounts started in that one large area, but then as things started to scatter, you can imagine that the potential threat with it would have scattered with it as well," Hosey said.
The block party event took place during the local high school's homecoming weekend, which brought more visitors than usual to the area, Peavy said. The event, which was not affiliated with the school, was almost over when the shooting began, he said.
"We were closing the gap on just about time to shut down everything because it was getting to the 2:00 mark. We were close and all of a sudden, you know, gunfire erupts," Peavy said.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
