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Cops: DeKalb man arrested nearly a month after shooting 2 teenagers, killing 1
A Stone Mountain man was arrested on a murder charge Tuesday in connection with the New Year’s Day killing of a 19-year-old from Tennessee, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office announced.
Cops: DeKalb man arrested nearly a month after shooting 2 teenagers, killing 1
Caption
Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office
Crime & Public Safety
By Henri Hollis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
8 hours ago
2nd teen was critically injured, police say
A Stone Mountain man was arrested on a murder charge Tuesday in connection with a New Year’s Day shooting that left one teenager dead and another seriously injured, authorities said.
Malachi Coleman, 21, was located at a home in Decatur and taken into custody without incident, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office said. He is accused of shooting two teens near a home in Stone Mountain before fleeing on foot, DeKalb police said. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene and the second was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The incident took place Jan. 1 at a home on Arbor Ridge Drive, the sheriff’s office said. According to police, officers were called to the neighborhood just after 5:15 p.m. after getting reports of multiple people shot.
Jayce Pirtle, 19, of Memphis, Tennessee, was found dead at the scene, police said. The second victim’s identity has not been released, and police did not provide an update on her condition.
Investigators determined that Coleman had approached the two victims prior to opening fire, police said. No other information has been shared about the circumstances around the shooting.
According to her obituary, Pirtle was killed just days before her 20th birthday. She was born Jan. 3, 2003, alongside a twin brother who preceded her in death, her obituary said. Pirtle is survived by a young son, her parents, several brothers and sisters and a large extended family in both Georgia and Tennessee. Her funeral was held Jan. 14 at St. James Baptist Church in Humboldt, Tennessee.
Coleman was booked into the DeKalb jail on one count each of malice murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the sheriff’s office said. He is being held without bond.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.