In the late hours of a February night in Valdosta, Georgia, the life of 17-year-old Solomon Vincent Lee was tragically cut short. On February 22, 2015, Solomon was attending a birthday party at the Southside Recreation Center on South Oak Street. A series of fights broke out at the facility, eventually spilling out into the street. It was in the ensuing chaos at the corner of South Oak Street and Kitchen Lane, at approximately 1:23 a.m., that gunfire erupted.
Solomon was found shot and was rushed to South Georgia Medical Center for his injuries. Though initial reports suggested he had been shot multiple times, it was later clarified that he sustained a single gunshot wound, with the initial confusion arising from the entry and exit wounds. Tragically, he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Investigators later indicated that there was evidence to suggest that Solomon may not have been the intended target of the shooter. His family remembered him as an honorable young man of great character and morals, stating he was a victim of a senseless and violent crime, not involved in any illicit activities.
Within a few hours of the incident, the Valdosta Police Department identified a suspect. Sixteen-year-old Kevin D. Johnson was arrested in connection with Solomon's death. Detectives presented their evidence to a Superior Court Judge to obtain arrest warrants for the juvenile. Johnson was subsequently charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and possession of a firearm under the age of 18. The investigation into the shooting that claimed the life of the Valdosta High School junior continued after the arrest.
