On a Saturday evening in Flowery Branch, Georgia, the life of Rico Bledson, a 39-year-old Black male, was tragically cut short. On August 6, 2016, police responded to a call of a suspicious person at a residence on Chinook Court. Before they could arrive, a second call reported a shooting. Officers discovered Bledson on the front porch of the home with a single gunshot wound to his upper chest.
He was rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, but he did not survive his injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Flowery Branch Police Department, with the assistance of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, began an intensive investigation into what was the city's first murder in nearly five years. Law enforcement officials canvassed the area and followed up on numerous leads, though they did not immediately identify a suspect or a motive for the shooting. They could not confirm if robbery was a factor, as it was not immediately clear if anything had been taken from the scene.
As the investigation continued without a resolution, the case grew cold. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation officially lists the death of Ricko Bledson as an unsolved homicide. In an effort to generate new leads, Bledson's family offered a $5,000 reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for his death. Despite these efforts, to this day, no arrests have been made in the case, and the identity of any suspect or suspects remains unknown to the public. The investigation remains open, with authorities still seeking information from anyone who might have knowledge of the events that transpired on that fatal evening.
