For the second time in nearly three months, an Atlanta-area mother is mourning the loss of a son to gun violence.
Andre Fortson, 16, the younger brother of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, an Air Force senior airman killed by a Florida sheriff’s deputy in early May, was shot to death outside the family’s home in DeKalb County on July 30, according to police.
The older son was devoted to helping his mother with his brother and another younger sibling, she told reporters in May.
“He was trying to give me everything that I never could get for myself,” Chantemekki Fortson said.
Police said the younger Fortson was killed in a breezeway of the Summit Hill Apartments on Bouldercrest Road, while neighbors told a local station that he was caught in the crossfire of a shootout and likely not the intended victim.
One of the alleged shooters, identified as 20-year-old Quintavious Zellner, has been arrested on charges of aggravated assault and is held at the DeKalb County Jail, according to WSB Channel 2.
Police said they believe another teenager was involved in the shooting. However, they would not confirm whether this person had been taken into custody.
Neighbors said they heard the gunshots and when the suspects sped away, leaving Andre mortally wounded in the breezeway. One person tried to administer CPR, but the teenager died at the scene.
The latest heartbreak for the Fortson family comes nearly three months after Andre’s older brother, Roger, was killed May 3 by an officer who opened fire at the man’s apartment in Fort Walton, Florida, after arriving to investigate a simple disturbance call.
Fortson was chatting with his girlfriend on FaceTime before he was shot six times by the officer when Fortson opened his front door with a gun pointed down at the floor. Fortson never had a chance to react.
Now their mother, Chantimekki Forston, is devastated following another unthinkable tragedy — with two of her three children violently slain less than three months apart.
Her daughter, Harmoni, is her last surviving child.
In a statement, the family’s attorney, Ben Crump, said in part, “This has been an incredibly challenging time for them with the loss of Roger. Losing the life of yet another young family member – a mere child – has been an absolute devastation.”
Meanwhile, the deputy who killed his older brother, Roger Fortson, has since been fired from the department.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating, but so far no criminal charges have been announced.
Roger Fortson was extremely close to his family.
Two days before he was fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in Florida, U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson called home to ask his 10-year-old sister what she wanted for her birthday.
His mother described him as a “gift” who taught her love and forgiveness, and who was not only a devoted son but also a co-worker and counselor.
Chantemekki Fortson also told the Tampa Bay Times that once, when Roger was injured and thought he would die, he told her he had to push through for his brother and sister.
Andre Fortson also loved his family. Back in May, following following Roger Fortson’s death, he consoled his mother and held her hand at a news conference demanding justice.
The Deadly Police Shooting
Body camera footage shows Fortson never raised his weapon toward the officer before he was shot.
Instead, Fortson held up his empty hand, presumably to protect himself as the officer aimed his gun.
Six slugs in quick succession dropped Fortson to the floor while the officer continued to yell at him, saying, “Drop the gun!” even though Fortson wasn’t moving, the gun no longer in his hand.
Later, as other deputies arrived, the officer at the scene told them, “We’re good, we’re good.”
“He had a gun as soon as he opened that door,” the deputy told fellow officers, setting the narrative that emerged initially.
Previously, Crump called Fortson’s killing an “execution” that also violated his civil rights, saying there’s “no question that the officer acted with impulse and a lack of proper training when he shot and killed Roger within seconds of the door opening.”
Fortson had been stationed at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, and he lived off-base at the apartment where six bullets from an Okaloosa County deputy’s gun ended his life.
Days after the shooting, Crump held a news conference with Fortson’s family at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fort Walton Beach to address the shooting while criticizing police officials for portraying the shooting as an act of self-defense.
“We have to clear this narrative,” Crump said while also accusing the sheriff’s department of not being fully transparent about what happened.
Previously, Crump said the sheriff’s office described Fortson as an “armed man” but never mentioned that Fortson had his gun pointed down at the floor when he was shot.
Days after the shooting, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden posted a statement to social media, expressing sadness over what happened, but at that time, it was early in the investigation, and the department had not responded directly to media outlets seeking the official account of what took place.
At the same time, the sheriff’s office stated that the responding deputy had reacted in “self-defense” after encountering an armed Black man.
However, authorities did not provide further details about the nature of the disturbance, nor did they reveal the identity of the person who called police to the scene.
The sheriff’s office also declined to provide the original 911 call and the police report that was filed in the incident, citing the “ongoing active investigation.”
