In the quiet town of Rockmart, Georgia, the evening of Thursday, January 24, 2019, was shattered by a wave of violence that left four people dead, including 19-year-old Jaequinn Davis. The young man was one of two victims found at a residence on Williamson Street, the other being 48-year-old Helen Rose Mitchell. A third person at that location, 24-year-old Peerless Brown, was also shot but survived his injuries.
The tragic events of that night did not end there. A short distance away, at a home on Rome Street, two more victims, 24-year-old Arkeyla Perry and 26-year-old Dadrian Cummings, were also found deceased. The series of shootings prompted a multi-agency investigation led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Investigators quickly identified 27-year-old Daylon Delon Gamble as the suspect in all four homicides and the shooting of the lone survivor.
A manhunt for Gamble ensued, and he was considered armed and dangerous. He had reportedly fled the scene in a stolen truck, which was later found abandoned in neighboring Bartow County. The search for Gamble crossed state lines, and on January 27, 2019, he was apprehended without incident in Indianapolis, Indiana, by the U.S. Marshal's Service's Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Following his arrest, Daylon Delon Gamble was extradited back to Georgia to face four charges of murder. The motive for the devastating rampage has remained a central question in the investigation. As of early 2022, the case had not yet gone to trial, with delays attributed to changes in the suspect's legal representation and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the court system. The families of Jaequinn Davis and the other victims continue to await justice.
