Richmond County authorities are still investigating the circumstances of Thursday night’s gun violence at Olmstead Homes that are being called a murder-suicide that also left a woman injured.
Authorities believe Zyquan Jarmacus Franklin shot 34-year-old Jeremy Dontavious McGahee and a woman on C Street before killing himself. McGahee and the woman were rushed to the hospital, where McGahee was pronounced dead around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Coroner Mark Bowen said. The woman’s name and condition have not been released.
The coroner said Franklin, 32, was found inside a residence on B Street with at least one gunshot wound and pronounced dead on the scene at 12:15 a.m. Friday. An autopsy has been scheduled.
“These cases are connected and in the early stages of investigation,” Bowen said in a press release called “murder-suicide.”
The sheriff’s office released a short statement Thursday night. Deputies responded to the 2100 Block of C Street in reference to “shots fired with two down.”
“Deputies located one male and one female subject had been shot at least once,” the statement said. “ Both subjects were transported to a local hospital for treatment where the male subject succumbed to his injuries.”
The murder of McGahee brings the homicide count to 45 this year in Richmond County. There were 38 homicides last year.
Franklin has twice been convicted of dealing marijuana in Richmond County, receiving probation on both felony offenses. He has also tangled repeatedly with officers, getting a six-month sentence in one obstruction case and 30 days in another. A third obstruction case from 2021 was never resolved in court, according to online records.
McGahee was remembered online by a long list of friends and family, such as Shada Burnett.
“One of the saddest parts of losing someone is knowing they left kids behind,” Burnett wrote. “My condolences to his kids, their mothers, his parents, and the McGahee family.”