Authorities seek suspects in Adel ‘mass shooting’

ADEL — Referring to the deadly gunfire Sunday morning in this Cook County town as a “mass shooting,” lawmen of several agencies Monday asked the public for any information to help find the perpetrators.

There are no suspects or persons of interest yet in the fatal shooting at The Stage, 105 W. First St., said Jason Seacrist, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent.

Seacrist and fellow GBI agent Mark Pro were joined Monday by Cook County Sheriff Doug Hanks, Adel Police Chief Chad Castleberry and Alapaha District Attorney Dick Perryman in front of the business, described by Seacrist as a party rental hall.

One teen was killed and two others wounded in the shooting, with more than 100 bullets fired, Seacrist said.

At about 12:50 a.m. Sunday, Adel police were called out to The Stage on a report of shots fired, according to a GBI statement. Officers found a large crowd fleeing the area.

The gathering was a prom-related all-ages party with at least 300 people, some as young as 12, Seacrist said. The partygoers came from several counties, including Cook, Berrien, Colquitt, Tift and Lowndes, he said.

Emmanuel Whitehead, 18, was found with a gunshot wound in a convenience store several blocks away, he said.

A 19-year-old man was found in the parking lot of a nearby business with a gunshot wound to the back, Seacrist said.

A juvenile with minor injuries was later identified as a third gunshot victim, Seacrist said.

Whitehead died at South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta; his body was taken to the GBI Medical Examiner’s Office in Macon for autopsy, according a GBI statement. He had recently completed training as a National Guardsman, Seacrist said.

The 19-year-old was transported to SGMC before being transferred to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla., Seacrist said. Authorities did not know his condition Monday.

“We have done interviews with multiple people,” he said.

Authorities believe there was more than one shooter, Seacrist said.

The shooting appears gang-related, Seacrist said, but he couldn’t name the gangs.

The Stage was a new business that had only been open “three or four weeks,” Castleberry said.

Anyone with information should contact the Adel Police Department, (229) 896-2224, or the GBI Region 4 office, (912) 389-4103.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.

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