In the early evening of Sunday, September 24, 2023, the quiet of Matthews Street in Barnesville, Georgia, was shattered by gunfire. When Lamar County Sheriff's deputies and Barnesville police officers arrived around 6:25 p.m., they found 17-year-old Christopher Hakim Wellmaker suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The young man, known to some as CJ, was rushed to a local hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he died later that evening. The incident was quickly suspected to be an act of retaliation for a prior event.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to take the lead on the case. Initial information released by investigators suggested a perplexing scenario: that Wellmaker had been driving the very individuals who shot and killed him. However, this account was soon officially corrected. The GBI clarified that Wellmaker was actually outside a residence when two assailants drove by and opened fire on him in a drive-by shooting. This revised sequence of events painted a clearer picture of the attack that claimed the teenager's life.
The investigation moved swiftly, and authorities soon had two suspects in custody. These individuals, both juveniles, were arrested and charged with felony murder in connection with Wellmaker's death. One of the alleged assailants was reportedly from the nearby town of Milner, and the other from Griffin. In a significant legal development, a judge in Monroe County ruled that the two teenagers would be tried as adults for the crime. Following this decision, their case was set to be handed over to the Towaliga District Attorney's Office for prosecution, marking the next phase in the pursuit of justice for the killing of Christopher Hakim Wellmaker.
