Teen opens fire, kills another teen during argument inside Georgia Walmart, cops say

A 17-year-old Middle Georgia boy was shot and killed Sunday evening by another teen during an argument that began in the produce section of the Walmart Supercenter in Forsyth, law enforcement officials said.

The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. when the teenagers’ dispute spilled over into the store’s frozen food section and one of the youths drew a pistol and shot the other “several times,” Monroe County sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

Cedric James Mayes was later pronounced dead at the scene, the officials said, adding that the alleged gunman Tarmaine Jontavion “T.J.” Bowden, also 17, was soon taken into custody.

Charges against Bowden were pending.

It was not immediately clear what may have prompted the dispute.

The GBI said in a statement that police answered a call about someone “firing shots inside the store” at 6:12 p.m. on Sunday.

No one else was wounded in the gunfire.

The Walmart, at 180 N. Lee St., lies just west of the main Interstate 75 interchange at the edge of downtown Forsyth.

Joe Kovac Jr.

The Telegraph

Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.