By Joe Johnson
A weekend shooting that critically injured a man at a party near the University of Georgia campus is being investigated as a possible gang drive-by, an Athens police official said Tuesday morning.
More than 40 gunshots reportedly were fired from a car at 136 Northview Drive where the party was being held and where 24-year-old Ja’Vanni McDavid was injured, said Lt. Shaun Barnett, public information officer for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
At least one neighboring house and a vehicle were damaged when struck by bullets, he said.
“Specific details regarding how the shooting took place are being looked into,” Barnett said. “A motive has not been confirmed, but we are not ruling out the possibility of it being gang related. There was a party at a residence and several shots were fired. As a result, some property was damaged."
The crime scene is across the street from the UGA campus and the Foley Field baseball stadium. The university's police department issued an electronic “timely warning” to alert members of the university community about the incident when it happened.
Charged for the shooting is 19-year-old Anthony Quinn Brown, who was arrested some nine hours after the incident with assistance from heavily armed officers with the Strategic Response Team, according to a police report.
A car reportedly was towed from Brown’s residence on Magnolia Street, but it was not known whether police believed that it was the vehicle that the suspect used for the shooting.
The investigation was ongoing, and police asked for anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Detective Paul Johnson at 762-400-7060 or paul.johnson@accgov.com.
You have been busy keeping us informed Joe. Thanks for the information. Sorry it has been so heavy lately. I guess that is the nature of crime reporting. I hope you are making time to get outside and enjoy this weather.