Ryan Guider's Funeral Erupts In Gunfire After His Alleged Killer, Marcus Ventress, Reportedly Attends The Ceremony
Two people were killed and two others were wounded when a gunfight erupted in front a funeral near Atlanta, reports said.
DeKalb County police said the shootout erupted Thursday as a funeral for Ryan Guider, 19, was wrapped up. Authorities said Marcus Ventress, the man believed to be responsible for the death of Guider, had attended the funeral at Victory of the World Church in Stone Mountain, according to various news reports. No arrest have been made yet.
Police said mourners were gathered to pay their last respects to Guider, 19, who was killed May 26, supposedly in retaliation for a home burglary, according to CBS affiliate WGCL.
All indications [suggest] the person involved in the death of Guider showed up at the church and was in the parking lot. The initial word is that he may have had a gun today and shot in the air, said William Miller, DeKalb's director of public safety, according to Fox News.
During the melee, two people were killed, the reports said. Their identities have not been released.
Miller told Fox that the scene outside was extremely chaotic and dangerous.
People were hiding under cars, trying to get away from the gunfire, he said.
Police were said to be seeking more information about a suspicious vehicle that was carrying five men. Witnesses said they spotted a similar car leave the crime scene. It is not known if Ventress was inside, and no other details about the vehicle was released, reported Fox.
We immediately started detaining people, said Miller. One of our officers was able to get behind a suspicious vehicle, stopped it. It had about three-to-four people inside.
Several other people were wounded during the incident and police are questioning several people in connection with the shooting.
Gunshots went off everywhere and people were just running and falling. It was something else, said witness Craig Sharpe, reported Fox.
Police said Ventress, 28, is also wanted for aggravated assault, after he was allegedly involved in a shooting at an apartment on Treecrest Parkway.
After the latest outbreak of violence, local residents called for peace.
This tragedy is another reason why people of all faiths must come together in coalition with public safety officials and elected officials to stem the rising tide of youth violence in the African American community, said Kenneth Samuel, senior pastor of Victory for the World Church, reported NBC.
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