FORSYTH, Ga. — An argument inside the Forsyth Walmart Sunday ended in gunfire, with one teenager dead and another under arrest.
According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, it started around 6 p.m. with an argument between 17-year-old Cedric Mayes and 17-year-old Tarmaine Jontavion (TJ) Bowden in the store’s produce section.
Investigators say it continued into the frozen foods where Bowden pulled out a pistol and shot Mayes several times.
“We were just going grocery shopping, and that’s when we heard 5 or 6 gunshots,” a shopper told 13WMAZ. "We didn't know what to do so we just ran out the door."
Forsyth Police, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and Georgia State Patrol all responded. They found Mayes dead.
Throughout Sunday night, dozens of people stood outside the Walmart, including Mayes’ family who could be heard crying, “They killed my baby… they killed my baby.”
Walmart shoppers are in shock, including Cesar Silva.
“We saw a kid just running around. He looked confused. It’s crazy for it to happen where there’s kids and family,” said Silva.
“Anything can happen now. We normally don’t have incidents at the Walmart like shootings, but anything can happen,” said Forsyth Police Maj. Alexander Daniels.
Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman says there’s no longer a threat to the public after deputies took Bowden into custody.
Forsyth Police have not yet released the charges against him. The GBI is continuing to investigate and says Mayes’ body will go to its crime lab for an autopsy.
RELATED ARTICLES: