WARE COUNTY, Ga. – One person was killed and a second was injured early Sunday at a Waycross hotel after a concert at a nightclub featuring Jacksonville rap artist Yungeen Ace.
Dewayne Lamont Scott, 29, and 30-year-old Jeremy Alexander Brookins were both shot. Scott was found in a room and taken to a hospital. Brookings died near a pool. Both are from Jacksonville.
"The man was gunned down in cold blood," Waycross Police Chief Anthony Tanner said Monday. "They were all in the general area as he was and they all scattered when the bullets started flying."
The musician, Kenyatta Bullard -- who performs as Yungeen Ace -- wasn't injured in the attack in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn. Bullard also survived a shooting last year near the St. Johns Town Center in which his brother and two friends were killed.
Waycross police said the weekend shooting may have ties to a previous conflict in Jacksonville.
"Apparently, this is something that has been brewing or ongoing, and they just both happened to meet at a specific location," Tanner said.
Three Jacksonville men believed to be with Bullard were arrested hours after the shooting. Mark Johnson, 26, was charged with party to murder as well as gun and drug charges. Leroy Whittaker, 18, and Devante Starks, 26, were arrested on gun charges.
Tanner said the music performance at Club Vibe was peaceful, but things turned violent when they arrived at the Hampton Inn on Brunswick Highway about 3:30 a.m.
"It sounded like firecrackers going off in the parking lot," witness Darrell Ritchie said. "I was not aware of what I was hearing at first."
Ritchie told News4Jax he posted video of the aftermath of the shooting on social media to let his friends and family know he was OK.
Tanner said police are working relentlessly to find the shooters.
"We are out to get the people responsible. We don't care who they are, we just want to get them off the streets," Tanner said.
Bullard's attorney, David Haas, said the musician is cooperating with the investigation but will not comment further on the investigation.