FORT VALLEY, Ga. — On Sunday night around 10:00 p.m., 31-year-old Micah McCant died after being shot at a graduation party while picking up his daughter. That's according to Peach County Coroner Kerry Brooks.
Fort Valley Police Chief DJ Flores said they believe it all started at an apartment at Royal Town Homes.
"It appeared there was a party that was taking place for a middle school student," Flores said.
He said they believe it was a graduation party for one of the students. Eventually, the crowd of kids grew to about 30.
"Some other teenagers showed up uninvited and that ensued into a fight, a physical fight," Flores said.
He said there were about 10 adults there when things took a more violent turn in the parking lot in front of the apartment.
"The parents of some of the juveniles that were involved in this fight showed up and the adults and parents that were present were starting to try to break up the fight," Flores said.
He says one of those adults pulled out a gun and shot two people. One of the victims was McCant, who died later that night at the hospital.
Flores said while nothing can bring him back, he hopes this reminds parents the importance of keeping an eye on their children this summer.
"I'm trying to encourage a lot of the citizens, and especially the parents that now that the summer months are coming up, you know, a lot of the juveniles are probably gonna not have too much to do around here. I don't know that for a fact, but we encourage the citizens to get in contact with law enforcement because we do have programs that are available for these teenagers," Flores said.
Police are still looking for the suspect in the shooting. Anyone with information about the suspect can call Fort Valley Police at 478-787-3383.