Two juveniles shot Saturday night

Published 1:43 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2022

MOULTRIE, Ga. – Two juveniles were shot Saturday night at a Colquitt County residence.

The Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s assistance in the investigation on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The GBI released a statement with preliminary information about the incident Tuesday morning.

“On the evening of Saturday, September 10, 2022, at approximately 10:30 p.m, Colquitt County sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on Old Adel Road in response to a 911 call about two people being shot at the residence,” the Georgia Bureau of Investigations press release said.

Two male juveniles ages 11 and 15 were located and found suffering from gunshot wounds.

“I believe that speaking for the sheriff and everyone else that this is a horrible tragedy,” Ronald Jordan, of the CCSO Criminal Investigation Division, said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s a tragedy because we have two boys that have been maimed for life and permanently disabled because of the actions of one person.”

Investigator Chris Robinson said one of the responding deputies administered first aid while the other took the suspect into custody.

“His actions helped save these kids’ lives,” Robinson said.

“The Colquitt County Fire Association and Colquitt County Emergency Medical Services responded quickly and acted appropriately,” the investigators said.

Both children were transported to a hospital in critical condition, the GBI said.

According to the press release, Andrew Jacob Murphy, 32, of Moultrie, was taken into custody at the scene and is charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated battery, two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, possession of a firearm during the commission of crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

There were several witnesses on the scene, investigators said.

”Murphy is a very troubled individual and has a significant criminal history,” the sheriff’s investigators said.

Murphy has been incarcerated three times on typically non-violent offenses, according to information from the Georgia Department of Corrections website. He served time in the Valdosta State Institution after a mutiny in a penal institution offense in Tattnall County in August 2018.

He was released from prison Thursday, Sept. 8 — less than three days prior to the shooting — according to the Georgia Department of Corrections and CCSO investigators.

The GBI said Murphy remains in the Colquitt County Jail.

Robinson and the GBI are currently completing a case file to submit to the District Attorney’s office. The decision of prosecution is up to the district attorney.

“We’re still trying to put the pieces together and figure out the motive,” Robinson said.

The investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Thomasville Office at 229-225-4090.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.