Crime & Justice
Teen playing video games killed by stray bullet in Georgia motel
A Georgia family is mourning the loss of 17-year-old Sheldon Williams who was killed Thursday night when a stray bullet pierced the wall of his motel room and struck him as he played video games with relatives, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. at an extended stay motel in Gwinnett County on Stone Mountain Highway. Lewis had been sitting with his family when a single round traveled through the shared wall from the neighboring unit. He died before first responders arrived.
Suspect in Georgia stray bullet shooting
Gwinnett County police arrested Shemarcus Cockran, 31, who was staying in the room beside the Lewis family. Cockran told detectives he had returned from a gun range and was cleaning his firearm when it discharged, Fox 5 reported. The bullet passed through the wall and struck the teenager.
He has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct.
A Family Forced to Watch
The Lewis family had been living at the extended-stay motel due to financial hardship. They were only feet away when the bullet entered the room.
His sister told Fox 5 that the trauma of witnessing the shooting has overwhelmed them.
“We were all there to witness it which makes it more traumatic than it seems,” she said. “Actually, witnessing it and him taking his last breaths was hard to see.”
She said her brother dreamed of becoming a chef.
A Mother in Treatment, a Family Displaced
The family has since moved to another hotel to avoid the site of the shooting, Fox 5 reported. Their mother is undergoing cancer treatment, adding to the strain.
A GoFundMe Describes Their Grief
The family has created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral and burial expenses. They wrote about the moment the bullet entered the room and the shock that followed, describing a night that began with laughter and ended in tragedy.
“We are utterly heartbroken and struggling to cope with this sudden and devastating loss,” the family wrote.
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