In the early hours of May 1, 2021, the life of 20-year-old KeTravian Tyvon Cole, an aspiring male rap artist from Athens, Georgia, known as EBE Montana, was cut short in a hail of gunfire. The incident unfolded on the westbound side of Georgia Highway 316 near Jackson Trail Road in Winder. Initially reported as a possible road rage incident, responding Barrow County Sheriff's deputies discovered a scene that suggested a more calculated act of violence. Cole was found deceased at the scene, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. Another individual in the vehicle with him was also injured and subsequently hospitalized.
The investigation, quickly taken over by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation began to point away from a random act of road rage and towards a targeted killing. Investigators learned that a dark-colored sedan had pulled alongside the vehicle in which Cole was a passenger, and its occupants opened fire. The Barrow County Sheriff, Jud Smith, stated that the incident did not appear to be random and that Cole seemed to have been the specific target. This belief was bolstered by information suggesting the shooting was connected to ongoing gang-related conflicts.
Further investigation revealed that KeTravian Cole's death was likely a chapter in a violent feud between two rival Athens-based gangs: 'Everybody Eats' with which Cole was associated, and the 'Red Tape Gang'. This connection was so strong that in a later court proceeding, it was stated that GBI agents considered members of the Red Tape Gang to be the primary suspects in Cole's murder. At the time of his death, Cole himself was wanted on an active warrant for aggravated assault in connection with a prior shooting incident, highlighting the turbulent environment in which he was involved.
Despite the strong suspicions of gang-related retaliation and the GBI's focus on the Red Tape Gang as the likely perpetrators, the investigation into KeTravian Tyvon Cole's murder has not led to any publicly announced arrests or the naming of specific suspects. The case officially remains under investigation, leaving a void in the narrative of a young life lost to a cycle of violence. While law enforcement has continued to combat gang activity in the Athens-Clarke and Barrow County areas, making numerous arrests of individuals associated with both EBE and RTG for various other crimes, justice for the targeted killing of KeTravian Cole remains elusive. The dark-colored sedan and the individuals within it who ended his life on that spring morning have yet to be held accountable.
