BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Police are searching for a Jacksonville man who has been accused in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year-old football player in Brunswick.
Police said Friday that investigators secured murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime warrants for Jacksonville resident Breon Hartley, 21, in connection to the shooting that left My’kal Ellis dead.
The Brunswick Police Department said Ellis was walking home from a friend’s house when he was shot and killed Tuesday night in front of his home on Johnston Street.
Ellis’s family and the police said they believe Ellis was not the intended target. Neighbors said Ellis was the third person shot on the same block within the past several days.
Dozens of people gathered for a vigil outside to remember the slain teen, who his stepmom said dreamed of playing in the NFL.
“I always told him he was going to make it,” Kandice Shaw said.
Shaw pleaded for anyone with information about Harley’s whereabouts to come forward so the family can begin to feel closure.
“If anyone knows anything, please reach out to them. If anybody knows his whereabouts, please reach out because justice has to be served.”
According to the FDLE website, Hartley is also currently wanted by Jacksonville police for an undisclosed crime.
Six days after her stepson was shot and killed, two men in their 30s were shot on the same block while on their way back to work, and Shaw said the gun violence needs to stop before another child’s life is lost.
“There’s a lot of innocent people getting killed because of gun violence. Here in Brunswick, it’s getting very bad. It makes no sense at all. Every other day. Every week, we hear shootings and drive-by shootings,” Shaw said.
Police said Hartley is considered to be armed and dangerous and anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts should call 911. Those with additional information are urged to contact Det. Anthony Trollinger at (912) 279-2640 or Silent Witness at (912) 267-5516.