A Georgia man shot two of his relatives and a fast food worker dead before killing himself on Thursday in rural south Georgia, the local coroner said.
The shooter killed his mother and grandmother at two neighboring homes and killed a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Moultrie, Colquitt County Coroner C. Verlyn Brock told The Associated Press. He said the gunman then shot himself.
Brock did not provide the identities of the shooter or the victims. He said he did not know whether the gunman and the McDonald’s worker knew each other.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement only that there had been “multiple fatalities” at different crime scenes in the area. As the state’s leading law enforcement agency, the GBI said the Moultrie Police Department requested its assistance, as is typical in major crimes in Georgia.
“We are working to learn more information and track down some additional witnesses,” GBI Special Agent in Charge Jamy Steinberg wrote in an email.
Sabrina Holweger, who works at an adjoining optometrist’s office, said she and a coworker arrived at work before 8 a.m. to find police swarming the McDonald’s and a woman’s body gunned down and lying in a doorway of the restaurant.
“It was really just scary not knowing if they had shot themselves,” Holweger said.
She said police blocked off a main street that runs in front of the McDonald’s in the city of 15,000 and told employees in her office that they would be questioned if they crossed the property line into the McDonald’s parking lot.
Holweger said the woman who died at the restaurant was the early morning manager, and that the shooter had been an employee there. Holweger said it appeared that the man killed the woman when she unlocked the door to let him in for an early-morning shift.
Moultrie is about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northeast of Tallahassee, Florida.
The Chicago-based McDonald’s Corp. did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Ron Adar // Shutterstock
Since the start of 2023, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting per day. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that tracks gun violence using police reports, government sources, news coverage, and other public data, counted 106 mass shootings in 2023 as of March 9—a period of 68 days.
No official, universal definition of what constitutes a mass shooting currently exists. Groups define it differently based on the number of victims, whether they are killed or injured, whether the shooting occurs in a public or private space, and whether the shooter targets victims. The Gun Violence Archive defines it as an event in which at least four people were killed or injured.
The lack of a consistent definition creates opportunities for people to interpret the data differently, making it difficult for lawmakers to establish a set of agreed-upon facts upon which to address the issue of gun control.
For example, using a much narrower definition of a mass shooting, security specialists who drafted a 2013 congressional report identified just 78 mass shooting events between 1983 and 2012. This figure starkly contrasts the GVA's findings for 2014, which determined 273 mass shootings had occurred that year alone.
As to more recent figures, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 647 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022. Compared to this time last year, mass shootings in 2023 are outpacing last year's rate. Stacker cited data from the Gun Violence Archive to visualize the scope of mass shootings thus far in 2023. Data is as of March 7, 2023.
Since the start of 2023, the United States has averaged more than one mass shooting per day. The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that tracks gun violence using police reports, government sources, news coverage, and other public data, counted 106 mass shootings in 2023 as of March 9—a period of 68 days.
No official, universal definition of what constitutes a mass shooting currently exists. Groups define it differently based on the number of victims, whether they are killed or injured, whether the shooting occurs in a public or private space, and whether the shooter targets victims. The Gun Violence Archive defines it as an event in which at least four people were killed or injured.
The lack of a consistent definition creates opportunities for people to interpret the data differently, making it difficult for lawmakers to establish a set of agreed-upon facts upon which to address the issue of gun control.
For example, using a much narrower definition of a mass shooting, security specialists who drafted a 2013 congressional report identified just 78 mass shooting events between 1983 and 2012. This figure starkly contrasts the GVA's findings for 2014, which determined 273 mass shootings had occurred that year alone.
As to more recent figures, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 647 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022. Compared to this time last year, mass shootings in 2023 are outpacing last year's rate. Stacker cited data from the Gun Violence Archive to visualize the scope of mass shootings thus far in 2023. Data is as of March 7, 2023.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, and even on highways.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago, leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including one 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Firearms are the leading cause of death in people under the age of 24 years in the U.S., according to a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics in December 2022.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, and even on highways.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago, leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including one 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Firearms are the leading cause of death in people under the age of 24 years in the U.S., according to a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics in December 2022.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of this year's most high-profile mass shootings, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon. However, some of this year's most high-profile mass shootings, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws. A 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence, however, shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, elementary schools.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at college campuses, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, elementary schools.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws; however, a 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
Several of the states where mass shootings have occurred this year are those that don't require gun owners to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons. However, some of the most high-profile mass shootings of this year, like those in Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, California, and Washington D.C., happened in states with stricter gun laws.
Gun violence in the U.S. is a complex problem with many contributing factors beyond state laws; however, a 2022 study from Everytown for Gun Safety comparing state laws to rates of gun violence shows a correlation between the two. States with the most restrictions on gun users also have the lowest rates of gun-related deaths, while states with fewer regulations have a higher death rate from guns.
At 120 firearms per 100 residents, the U.S. is the only country in the world with more civilian-owned guns than people, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.
Top 2024 hopefuls to address NRA convention after shootings
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at schools, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, workplaces.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Emma Rubin // Stacker
This year, shooters have attacked people at schools, cultural celebrations, gas stations, private residences, downtowns, highways, and most recently, workplaces.
The deadliest single event to date remains the Jan 21. shooting in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people and wounded nine others at a dance hall in an Asian American community during a Lunar New Year celebration.
Nine mass shooting incidents occurred between Feb. 17 and Feb. 19—the most of any weekend in 2023. That weekend, nine children were shot at a gas station in Georgia, six people were shot on I-57 in Chicago leaving one toddler dead, and five people, including a 4-year-old, were shot at a parade in New Orleans.
Police vehicles sit parked in front of a McDonald's restaurant as police investigate a shooting in which multiple people were killed Thursday, May 4, 2023, in Moultrie, Ga. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that there is more than one crime scene, including one at the McDonald’s restaurant. (Kamira Smith/The Moultrie Observer via AP)
Kamira Smith
Police vehicles sit parked in front of a McDonald's restaurant as police investigate a shooting in which multiple people were killed Thursday, May 4, 2023, in Moultrie, Ga. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that there is more than one crime scene, including one at the McDonald’s restaurant. (Kamira Smith/The Moultrie Observer via AP)
Ron Adar // Shutterstock