Police say a 15-year-old cheerleader was killed and three others were injured in a shooting at a party following a high school prom in south Georgia.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that a 17-year-old male has been charged with murder in the Fitzgerald shooting early Saturday. Fitzgerald is approximately 80 miles south of Macon.
Chyell Park was pronounced deceased at a nearby hospital. Jared Luke, principal of Irwin County High School, informed WALB-TV that she was a freshman.
“I am just numb.” “I can’t even get my head around it,” Chyell’s mother, Chelsie King, said. “She was 15 with a full life ahead of her.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Channen Brown, 17, and charged him with felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm while committing a felony. Georgia criminal law treats 17-year-olds as adults. On Monday, a court clerk stated that there was no record of Brown coming before a judge or being represented by a lawyer.
On Monday, police told WALB-TV that additional arrests are possible.
A second gunshot occurred in Fitzgerald on Monday, prompting a lockdown at Ben Hill County schools. According to initial accounts, two people were hurt. Schools in Ben Hill County and nearby Irwin County both stated that they provide counseling to pupils.
“The loss of Chyell is extremely saddening and tragic,” Luke wrote in a statement. “She had a loving spirit and always had a smile on her face.”
Two other people who were shot, a 19-year-old woman and a 15-year-old man, were released from the hospital. A 14-year-old pupil who was shot in the arm underwent surgery on Monday.