Masked gunman fatally shot Georgia teen in the face while he was helping his brother fix lawnmower in front yard
RIVERDALE, GEORGIA: A teen boy who was working outside his home in Georgia was shot and killed by a masked gunman in front of his family. 13-year-old Brayan Zavala of Riverdale was helping his father and brother fix a lawnmower on the family's front porch on Thursday night, when a person wearing a ski mask approached him out of the blue, the Daily Mail reported.
A dark-colored Chevy slowly pulled up near the property at around 9 pm on October 15. The masked individual got out of the car, brandished a shotgun, and shot young Brayan in the face without any warning or provocation whatsoever. Authorities pronounced the teenager dead at the scene, as he lay in his father's arms. The Kendrick Middle School student was set to celebrate his 14th birthday soon, per the report. Meanwhile, the shooter remains unidentified and at large at the time of writing. 16-year-old Jesus Zavala, the victim's brother, told local media how a man wearing a ski mask drove up and shot his sibling in the face without saying a word. "The shooter didn't even say I want your money or this is a robbery or I'm assaulting you," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "He just came, stood there [in] silence, and shot my brother."
According to him, Brayan died shortly before the police responded to the scene at about 9:15 pm. “The bullets passed through him and blood just squirted out of him,” Jesus continued. “We tried to stop all the blood but by the time the police got here, it didn’t seem like he had life or a chance to live.” The grieving teen told WSB-TV that the shooter drove by his home and turned around before getting out and walking up to Brayan armed with a shotgun. After the shooting, the suspect reportedly took off in a Chevy HHR SUV with no plates. “What did .. what did he do?” Jesus asked. “We were working on a lawnmower, and all of a sudden, my brother is dead … It’s not fair. What’s the reason? Why? I don’t get it. I don’t get why this happened.”
A neighbor told WSB-TV that two other men were also in the car, albeit investigators are yet to determine a link between Brayan and the shooter. “As a Clayton County police officer for over 38 years, very little shocks me,” Doug Jewett wrote in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday. “But, this brutal, senseless murder has overwhelmed me. I send my prayers to the family.”
Jesus has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a memorial fund in Brayan's name. “He has been taken from us for no reason,” he wrote on the campaign website. “At this time, Clayton County police are working to help my family track down the shooter. We have no answers.”
Meanwhile, Clayton County Police continues to hunt for the killer and is soliciting help from the public for information related to the case. "The Clayton County Police Department is humbly asking the community and any persons having knowledge of this crime to contact the police department or Crime Stoppers for any information about this case," it said in a statement.
If you or anyone you know has any information on the homicide, you are urged to contact the Clayton County Police at (770) 477-3747.