A white former Georgia firefighter is facing new charges after authorities say he opened fire at a Black family reunion.
Jeffrey Tyler Kinzer was re-arrested following a brief court appearance on July 9, WALB reported.
Kinzer is accused of shouting racial slurs at a Black family before returning and shooting at them. Authorities said he fired an AR-15-style weapon at the home.
Kinzer is charged with one count of aggravated assault. He was out of jail on a $5,000 bond.
Atlanta Black Star spoke with one of the victims, Keishana Wilson.
“We had seen online people were saying that [Kinzer] is already out of jail on a $5,000 bond,” she said. “The investigators assured us that he was still back there.”
Wilson said her family was celebrating her grandmother’s birthday. She posted a video of someone opening fire on her family. She identified that person as Kinzer.
“Imagine gathering with your family, celebrating your grandmother’s birthday and the end of a family reunion, only for someone to drive by yelling racial slurs,” she said. “He came by twice trying to provoke us.”
During his court appearance Thursday, Kinzer’s attorney requested a bond modification, specifically to allow Kinzer to return to his home on the same street as the victims.
“He can’t harass or do anything to their property, do anything to their mailbox, [or] be on any of their areas,” Kinzer’s attorney said, according to WALB. “[Kinzer] will just stay in the public road, go into his house, do what he has to do whenever he has to leave, but not stop.”
The state pushed back by filing a motion to keep Kinzer in jail until an official bond hearing happened.
“Your Honor, the incident that started was from him driving on the public roadway and beginning a verbal altercation with people, later firing his firearm out,” the state argued.
Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Lewis Lamb proposed adding 59 additional charges.
The 59 potential charges are related to aggravated assault and possession of a firearm, according to WALB.
Wilson questioned why Kinzer wasn’t facing any child endangerment charges. She says there were roughly 20 children and older adults at the family gathering.
“Why our kids, why would you do such a hateful thing to a family because you don’t like the color of their skin? We did nothing to him. We did nothing to you. So why would you attack us simply because our skin is darker than yours?”
Wilson accused Kinzer of getting special treatment because he’s friends with the Lee County District Attorney.
“An officer took him to the hospital,” she told Atlanta Black Star. “When the first officer came out, my son asked, ‘ Why is it only one officer?”
Atlanta Black Star confirmed that Kinzer was a fire chief at Robins Air Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. He specifically served the 778th Civil Engineer Squadron.
Robins Air Base claims Kinzer has not worked there since 2024. In a picture posted on the air base website featuring Kinzer, he is still referred to as the fire chief.
A Lee County judge ultimately sided with prosecutors and modified Kinzer’s original bond conditions. He must stay at least a half mile away from the victim’s home on Autumn Leaf Drive.
The judge also discussed a potential $1 million bond, but that amount has not yet been set.
“I’m not in favor of him being in that neighborhood at all,” Judge Jim Thurman said. “I just believe that to allow that is to put him in a perilous situation as well as others.”
Kinzer is set to return to court on July 14.
