In a parking lot in Lilburn, Georgia, a burst of gunfire on a Wednesday evening left a community shaken and two young lives forever altered. The incident, which unfolded in the 700 block of Beaver Ruin Road, resulted in the tragic death of 16-year-old Ryan Rodriguez Romero, a male from Peachtree Corners. A 17-year-old girl from Norcross, Elizabeth Bravo, was also struck by the gunfire but survived her injuries.
The evening of November 16, 2022, turned violent in the parking lot of the La Mexicana Supermarket. When Gwinnett County police officers arrived around 7:30 p.m., they discovered Bravo suffering from a gunshot wound. She was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. Amid the initial chaos, investigators learned of a second victim. Romero, despite being shot, had managed to drive away from the scene. His desperate attempt to flee ended a short distance away on Vernon Street, where he was found deceased inside his vehicle.
The investigation quickly gained momentum as detectives pieced together evidence from witness statements and surveillance footage. This led them to identify two suspects, both 16 years old at the time of the incident. A boy from Lilburn and a girl from Lawrenceville became the focus of the police inquiry. The two teenagers were apprehended in Fort Walton, Florida, by the Walton County Sheriff's Office.
Following their arrest, the two suspects faced serious charges, including malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. Authorities announced that they would be charged as juveniles. After their capture in Florida, the process began to extradite them back to Gwinnett County to face the allegations against them in connection with the fatal shooting. A police report suggested that the incident may have been related to a drug transaction, with witnesses reporting that gunshots were fired from a van into the car occupied by the victims.
