A Flowery Branch teenager has been charged as a juvenile following a Sunday afternoon shooting incident on I-985 North. The teen is accused of firing a pellet gun at passing motorists. The shootings injured one woman and damaged several vehicles, officials say.
Hall County sheriff’s investigators have charged the 16-year-old male suspect with one count each of aggravated assault and terroristic threats and acts. Additional charges are pending as investigators complete reports on at least nine other vehicles that sustained damage from the pellet gunfire, says Hall County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson B.J. Williams.
“Investigators believe the teen fired a pellet rifle into northbound traffic in the area of Mile Marker 10 just north of Friendship Road between 5 and 5:30 p.m. on July 9,” says Williams.
Law enforcement officers were dispatched to the scene to determine the source of the gunfire. Shortly after 5:30 p.m., they located “a person of interest” in the vicinity where the gunfire was believed to have originated.
The woman who was injured sustained a non-life-threatening wound when she was hit in the back of the head with a pellet from the suspect’s weapon.
The suspect was released into the custody of juvenile authorities. Williams says the investigation remains active.
It is possible more vehicles may have been hit by pellets during this incident. Anyone who was traveling I-985 on July 9 between 5 and 5:30 p.m. and discovers damage to their vehicle consistent with pellet shots should contact Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812 to file a report.
