UPDATED at Investigation continues into fatal shooting in Mt. Airy
Two men are dead in Mt. Airy after gunfire on Key Road just before 1 PM on Wednesday afternoon. We don’t have the full names of the victims at this time. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Department are investigating. Watch the video posted above for an official statement about the incident.
Shortly after 1pm on Wednesday a parade of emergency responders, GBI and Habersham County investigators began the short trek up Key Road to deal with the aftermath of a dispute between neighbors.
The shooting took place on an idyllic country tract just off Dicks Hill Parkway in Mt. Airy. The road winds through a forest of oak, pine and maple. There’s a pond visible through the trees to one side, trailer homes barely glimpsed on the other. The air is full of early spring birdsong. A dog, disturbed by the gunshots, is still barking in the distance hours later.
Folks who live nearby say the road had become the battle line separating the men living at #374 (Mr. Key) and #377 (Mr. Ramey). Right now, authorities are still trying to work out the exact order of events. What changed the war of words into flying bullets and who shot first? It’s no easy task for investigators because emotions among surviving family members run high and hostility from both sides is evident.
No one I talked to can tell me what the feud was about. Now though,with both sides dead, the content of their argument seems moot.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly included the phrase “exchange of gunfire.” This phrase was removed.
