Teen Brother Of Airman Fatally Shot By FL Deputy Killed In GA Shooting

FLORIDA — Andre Fortson, the 16-year-old brother of a late airman who was fatally shot by a Florida deputy in May, died Wednesday night in a Georgia shooting, per police and media reports.

The slain teenager is the brother of Senior Airman Roger Fortson, the 23-year-old who was shot six times by an Okaloosa County (Florida) deputy who entered the wrong apartment in May, civil rights Attorney Ben Crump said in a statement secured by CBS News.

DeKalb County (Georgia) Police confirmed to Patch that Andre Fortson was found dead around 9:45 p.m. in the breezeway of an East Atlanta apartment building. Police said two groups of people had been exchanging gunfire for an unknown reason.

Neighbors told WSB-TV that Andre Fortson was believed to be an innocent bystander. One of the neighbors attempted CPR but couldn't "save him," WSB-TV reported.

Police identified one of the shooting suspects as Quintavious Zellner, 20. Zellner was taken to the DeKalb County Jail and was charged on suspicion of aggravated assault, police said.

Andre Fortson's death comes nearly three months after the fatal shooting of his older brother, who was an Atlanta native.

"The Fortson family is battling the loss of yet another young member of their family," Crump said in the statement, per CBS News. "This has been an incredibly challenging time for them with the loss of Roger. Losing the life of yet another young family member - a mere child - has been an absolute devastation."

RELATED: FL Deputy Who Killed Airman At Home Entered Wrong Apartment: Attorney

An Okaloosa deputy was responding to a disturbance call at the time of Roger Fortson's May 3 death, but a witness who was on Facetime with him said the late airman was alone in his home, Crump's office said at the time.

Roger Fortson asked who was at his door after hearing a knock but did not receive a response, Crump's office said. A more aggressive knock came after a few minutes, and when Roger Fortson did not see anyone out of the peephole, he retrieved a gun, Crump's office said.

" ... as he was walking back to the living room, police burst through the door. When they saw the gun, they shot Roger six times. The witness has said that she saw Roger on the ground stating, 'I can’t breathe,' after he was shot," Crump's office said, adding the deputy entered the wrong apartment.

The deputy was identified as Deputy Eddie Duran, who Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden has terminated, CBS News reported.

"Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran, saying the deputy's life was never in danger and that he should not have fired his weapon. A sheriff's office internal affairs investigation found that Fortson 'did not make any hostile, attacking movements, and therefore, the former deputy's use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable,'" CBS News reported.

Roger Fortson graduated from high school with honors before enlisting in the Air Force, Crump's office said in the past. He had no criminal record and was a "stellar member of the Air Force and loved by his community," Crump's office said.