In the autumn of 2021, a house party in Woodstock, Georgia, took a tragic turn, ending the life of 14-year-old Landon Andrews. The Kell High School freshman was attending a large gathering on Victoria Road near Lake Allatoona on October 17th when gunfire erupted. In the ensuing chaos, Landon was struck in the torso. He was later found inside an SUV and rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
For more than three years, the case remained a painful, unsolved mystery for Landon's family and the community. Investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office worked tirelessly, but the initial lack of forthcoming information from party attendees hampered their progress. In the weeks following the shooting, authorities arrested 17-year-old Elijah Harrison, alleging he fired a gun at least six times from a moving car after the initial shots were fired inside the home. However, he was not charged with Landon's death, and the identity of the primary shooter remained unknown.
As time passed, Landon's mother, Shawnda Schafer, made emotional public pleas for anyone with information to come forward, expressing the deep void left by her son's death. The investigation continued, and in an effort to generate new leads, the sheriff's office released a video from the party in October 2024, three years after the fatal shooting. This renewed push for information proved to be the breakthrough the case needed.
In late December 2024, authorities announced a significant development. New information received in the preceding weeks led them to 22-year-old Jaden Simmons of Mableton. Ironically, Simmons had initially been identified as another victim of the shooting, having sustained gunshot wounds to his hand and elbow. Following this new lead, Simmons was arrested and faced a litany of charges, including murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, first-degree cruelty to children, and violation of Georgia's Street Gang Terrorism Act. He was taken into custody and held at the Cherokee County Detention Center without bond, bringing a long-awaited sense of progress to a case that had haunted the community for years.
