Police officers in Georgia are trying to identify the person behind a drive-by shooting Thursday night that left a teenage boy dead just a week before his 14th birthday.
What We Know:
- Clayton County police in GA stated officers were called around 9:15 p.m. to the 30 block of Willow Lane. As officers arrived, they found 13-year-old Brayan Zavala shot in the face. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Brayan, a student at Kendrick Middle School, was outside his family’s Riverdale home doing yard work at the time of the incident.
- Brayan’s brother Jesus Zavala, 16, said that moments before the shooting, a car pulled up and a man donning a ski mask stepped out from the vehicle, displaying a gun. Jesus mentioned that the shooter never yelled that he wanted his money, if it was a robbery, or that he was being assaulted. The shooter just arrived in front of the home, stood there in silence, and shot his brother.
- Jesus stated:
“They shot my brother; they killed him. For no reason. He shot my brother in the face. My brother dropped, and I saw his eyes also drop. We lost him.”
- The shooter then fled the area and still has not been identified by police at this time.
- Ironically, Jesus said his parents fled the violence in Mexico, hoping to find safer streets here in the United States.
“We decided to live here for a better life, turns out it is worse. This is just like Mexico. They kill because they wanna kill. That is what just happen.”
- The family desires to return Brayan to Mexico for burial. They have begun a GoFundMe to help with the task.
Detectives proceed to work the case and have yet to explain a possible motive behind the shooting. Anyone with any information on the deadly shooting is asked to contact the Clayton County Police at (770) 477-3747.
