On Thursday, a 26-year-old man in rural Georgia fatally shot his 50-year-old mother and 74-year-old grandmother. He then proceeded to a nearby McDonald’s restaurant where he killed the 41-year-old assistant manager, Amia Smith, before taking his own life.
According to the local coroner, a man from Georgia fatally shot two of his family members and a manager of a fast-food restaurant before taking his own life on Thursday in rural south Georgia.
The shooter allegedly killed his 50-year-old mother and 74-year-old grandmother at two different locations and a 41-year-old woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Moultrie.
According to Sabrina Holweger, an employee at an optometrist’s office situated near the McDonald’s restaurant, the victim, Amia Smith, was the early morning manager at the restaurant, and the shooter was also a McDonald’s employee. Holweger suggested that the shooting occurred when Smith was opening the restaurant for the early-morning shift and let the shooter in. She also recounted her and her co-worker’s frightening experience upon arriving at work at 8 AM, not knowing whether the shooter was still on the premises: “It was a very scary situation, not knowing whether the shooter was still present,” Holweger stated.
The coroner stated that all three victims had multiple gunshot wounds.
In a phone interview, Brock stated that he was unable to comprehend the reason that led him to act in such a way.
He also mentioned that his office was in the process of informing the next of kin, so he declined to disclose the identities of the deceased individuals.
While McDonald’s confirmed that the woman killed was a manager.
Brock also added that he had no information regarding the relationship between the shooter and the McDonald’s manager.
Following the major crime, the Moultrie police enlisted the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to lead the investigation, as is typical with such incidents in Georgia. As of Thursday evening, the GBI had only released a statement confirming multiple fatalities at various locations.
GBI Special Agent in Charge Jamy Steinberg stated in an email that they were gathering more information and attempting to locate additional witnesses. However, Steinberg did not immediately respond to requests for further information via phone and email.
Jerry Goodwin, who resided next door to the shooter and his mother and two doors down from the grandmother, informed The Associated Press on Thursday that his wife heard gunshots before 1 a.m. that day, while he was asleep. Goodwin mentioned that the young man residing next door had fired a gun and yelled something the previous day of that week, which prompted the Moultrie police to respond.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved restaurant manager, and our hearts go out to all the victims of this senseless act of violence,” Suarez said in a statement provided by McDonald’s corporate office in Chicago.
The homicides took place in Moultrie, a rural area of Colquitt County located approximately 60 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of Tallahassee, Florida. This incident occurred one day after a shooter in Atlanta murdered one person and injured four others at a medical facility.
Colquitt County’s government administrator, Chas Cannon, mentioned that while driving his daughter to school on Thursday morning, they passed the McDonald’s, which was cordoned off by police tape and patrol vehicles.
Amia Smith identified as Moultrie McDonald’s manager shot and killed while on duty in rural Georgia