In the early hours of May 29, 2018, the life of 19-year-old Tyree Johnson was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire in a South Fulton, Georgia neighborhood. Johnson, a male from College Park, was one of three victims in a triple shooting that also claimed the life of 16-year-old Grant Antonio Payton and left a 15-year-old seriously injured.
The violence erupted just before 1 a.m. on Two Lakes Circle.
Johnson and his friends had reportedly just returned from a late-night food run to McDonald's and were outside a friend's home when the shooting occurred. Johnson was discovered inside a car parked in the driveway, having been fatally shot. Inside the home, Payton was found dead in the living room, struck by a stray bullet that penetrated the house. The 15-year-old survivor was shot in the face but managed to seek help from a neighbor. The sheer number of shots fired, described by one neighbor as sounding like a machine gun, left nearly two dozen evidence markers mapping the crime scene, with bullets riddling at least four vehicles and a nearby house.
In the wake of the senseless killings, the community was left shaken and fearful. Payton’s mother mourned the loss of her son, who had just started a new job at Chick-fil-A and was excited about his future. Friends and family remembered both teenagers as good kids who were not involved in gangs or any illicit activities. They were simply at a childhood friend's house when they became victims of a violent crime.
The South Fulton Police Department worked tirelessly on the case, and their investigation led to a significant breakthrough nearly three months later. On August 21, 2018, authorities announced the arrest of 18-year-old Adrian Chappell. He was taken into custody and charged with two counts of murder, one count of aggravated assault with intent to rob, and one count of aggravated battery. Along with Chappell, two other individuals, Montavious Powell and a 16-year-old, were arrested in connection with a series of school burglaries that police linked to the suspect in the double homicide. Chappell was denied bond and booked into the Fulton County Jail.
