Two Shot Dead at Georgia’s Freaknik Music Festival

Investigators are looking for the perpetrators of shootings that left two people dead at a festival in east central Georgia.

Local news outlets report the shooting in Sandersville killed William Mykell Lowery, 17, and Christopher “Scooter” Dunn, 30.

Both men were attending a Freaknik festival at a local park. Freaknik was once an Atlanta spring break festival attended by students from historically Black colleges and universities. Music promoters now use the name for dances, concerts, and other events across the country. Sandersville is about 100 miles (165 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta.

Witnesses claimed that the shooting sparked an ecstatic response.

” You heard gunshots and then everyone started running. Everyone just started hiding behind cars or stuff, and people were running because there was so much of the field,” Timothy Pace said to WJBF-TV.

Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran said to WMAZ-TV, that the first deputy arrived to see as many as a thousand people.

“As soon as he reached the location, more shots began to be fired. He called for help and found a victim who had been shot. Cochran stated that he later learned that another victim had been shot, and was taken to the hospital by a civilian.

Pace stated that the crowded event was not secure and that no one checked for weapons.

Cochran’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will handle the inquiry.

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