Investigators are looking into the possibility that a Grayson High freshman was shot to death over shoes.
Paul Sampleton Jr. was found dead of a gunshot wound at his home on Wednesday. The 14-year-old was an avid shoe collector, involved in a sneaker culture that’s called “the shoe game.” Police aren’t calling it a motive, but they say it’s one of the things they are investigating.
“While we are considering the ‘sneaker game’ angle, the fact that he might have been involved in trading these sneakers, we’re not willing to call that a motive in this case,” said Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department.
Friends say Sampleton traded and sold basketball shoes on websites like Addicted to All Things Fresh, a sort of Craigslist for shoes site.
Police acknowledge they have seen growing violence around the shoe game in recent weeks.
“We have seen kind of a trend recently here in Gwinnett County of people actually being targeted for their shoes,” said Smith.
Read more: MyFoxAtlanta
