Andre Fortson dies in fatal DeKalb County shooting
Fatal DeKalb County shooting death of Andre Fortson – Obituary
The teenage brother of U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson, who was fatally shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy in May, has tragically lost his life in a shooting near Atlanta, according to police.
Andre Fortson, the 16-year-old brother of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, was killed this week in DeKalb County, just east of Atlanta, as reported by the DeKalb County police.
“The Fortson family is enduring the profound loss of another young family member,” stated civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been representing the family since Roger Fortson’s death.
“This has been an extraordinarily difficult period for them, first with the loss of Roger,” Crump said in a statement. “The death of yet another young family member — a mere child — has been an overwhelming devastation.”
Police discovered Andre Fortson’s body in the breezeway of an apartment complex on Tuesday, with authorities stating that two groups had exchanged gunfire for reasons still unclear.
A 20-year-old man, identified as one of the shooters, was apprehended and charged with aggravated assault. He is currently being held at the DeKalb County Jail. There is no attorney listed for him in jail records at this time.
This tragic event occurs just three months after Roger Fortson, 23, was fatally shot by Okaloosa County sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran on May 3 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Body camera footage revealed that the airman had answered his apartment door while holding a handgun pointed at the floor and was shot within seconds.
Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden subsequently dismissed Duran, stating that the deputy’s life was not in danger and that he should not have discharged his weapon.
An internal investigation by the sheriff’s office concluded that Roger Fortson “did not make any hostile or attacking movements, and therefore, the former deputy’s use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable.”
Ben Crump has urged state prosecutors to press criminal charges against Duran.
“This heartbreaking incident should never have happened, and there must be accountability for such reckless actions,” Crump emphasized. “Roger Fortson’s family deserves justice, and our community demands accountability.”
The state attorney’s office has not yet commented on the ongoing shooting investigation.
The Fortson family, originally from DeKalb County where Andre Fortson was killed, had held a tearful news conference just weeks after the Florida shooting. Andre, along with his mother and sisters, stood on stage wearing red shirts emblazoned with “WE ALL WE GOT” on the front and a photo of Roger Fortson in his military uniform on the back.
Roger Fortson was stationed at Hurlburt Field, an Air Force base in the Florida Panhandle. During his funeral near Atlanta, hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues paid their respects, filing past his coffin, which was draped with the American flag.
Fatal DeKalb County shooting death of Andre Fortson – Obituary The teenage brother of U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson, who was fatally shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy in May, has tragically lost his life in a shooting near Atlanta, according to police. Andre Fortson, the 16-year-old brother of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, was…
Fatal DeKalb County shooting death of Andre Fortson – Obituary The teenage brother of U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson, who was fatally shot by a Florida sheriff’s deputy in May, has tragically lost his life in a shooting near Atlanta, according to police. Andre Fortson, the 16-year-old brother of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, was…