In the early morning hours of Saturday, March 14, 2026, a triple shooting in a parking lot on North Jackson Street in downtown Athens, Georgia, tragically cut short the life of 19-year-old Dylan Bentley. Bentley, a male from Jefferson, Georgia, was one of three young men shot at approximately 2:20 a.m. He was critically injured in the incident and transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day, on March 15, 2026.
The shooting also claimed the life of 22-year-old Clayton Adams of Hull, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A third victim, 20-year-old Landon Skinner, was shot in the eye and remained in critical condition.
The investigation into the deadly shooting led to the swift arrest of a suspect. Mark Desousa, a 22-year-old from Jefferson, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of malice murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. Warrants revealed that Desousa is accused of walking up to Bentley and shooting him in the back of the head without provocation. Tragically, Desousa was reportedly the longtime best friend of Landon Skinner, one of the victims who was critically injured. According to Skinner's mother, her son and Desousa were out together on the night of the shooting.
In the wake of the devastating loss, family and friends gathered to honor Dylan Bentley's memory. Over a hundred people attended a vigil on a soccer field where he used to play, sharing memories of his love for racing, soccer, and Ohio State football. The mother of the injured Landon Skinner described both Bentley and Clayton Adams as heroes, believing they were trying to help her son during the incident. The investigation into the motive behind the shooting remains ongoing.
