The tragic loss of another young member of the Fortson family has occurred, as Andre Fortson, the teenage brother of slain U.S. Air Force airman Roger Fortson, was fatally shot in the Atlanta area, according to DeKalb County police. The incident took place in DeKalb County, near Atlanta’s east side.
Andre Fortson, aged 16, was discovered deceased in the breezeway of an apartment complex on Tuesday. Police reported that two groups of individuals were engaged in a shooting, the reasons for which remain unknown. One of the shooters, a 20-year-old man, has been arrested on an aggravated assault charge and is currently held at the DeKalb County Jail.
This devastating event comes just three months after the killing of Roger Fortson, 23, by Okaloosa County sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Body camera footage revealed that the airman was shot within seconds of answering the door to his apartment while holding a handgun pointed towards the floor. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden subsequently terminated Duran’s employment, stating that the deputy’s life was never in danger and that he should not have used deadly force. An internal affairs investigation by the sheriff’s office supported this conclusion, finding that Fortson did not make any hostile or attacking movements.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has been representing the Fortson family since Roger’s killing, has called for criminal charges to be filed against Duran. Crump emphasized the need for accountability and justice, stating that the tragic incident should never have occurred.
The state attorney’s office has not yet provided a comment on the ongoing investigation into the shooting.
The Fortson family, already grappling with the loss of Roger, now mourns the loss of Andre. At a tearful news conference following Roger’s killing, Andre stood alongside his mother and sisters, all wearing red shirts with the words “WE ALL WE GOT” on the front and a picture of Roger in his military uniform on the back. The Fortson family hails from DeKalb County, the same location where Andre was tragically killed.