Teen suspect arrested as four young men found dead in Georgia park

A teenager is in custody after officers found four young men shot to death in a northwest Georgia park over the weekend.

The 16-year-old, whose identity has not been released, is from Rome, a town about 40 miles southwest of Pleasant Grove Park in Dalton, where the shooting occurred.

On August 24, at approximately 11:14 p.m., Whitfield County Sheriff's Office officers responded to a call of a fatal shooting at the park. When they arrived, they discovered the bodies of four Hispanic males, with WCSO Sheriff Scott Chitwood confirming they were 17, 18, 19 and 21 years old.

Authorities believe the incident began as an attempted robbery and turned into a fatal shooting, but was not gang-related.

“It's very, very tragic. Very tragic,” Chitwood said at a news conference. “There were multiple weapons involved,” the sheriff added. “We know that because of the multiple shell casings that were recovered at the scene.”

He added that one of the vehicles found at the scene of the shooting contained contraband.

A woman living across the street from the park said she called 911 after hearing “a massive number of gunshots,” according to Fox 5.

“It was like if you didn't know the difference, it would have been like fireworks, that's what you thought you were going to hear,” she said.

The initial press release said authorities were looking for an “SUV-type vehicle” and a dark-colored hatchback, both “possibly shotgun-related.”

The SUV was later located and towed to the sheriff's office by agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Fox 5 The vehicle was reported to have multiple bullet holes on one side.

Anyone with information is asked to contact WCSO at 706-278-1233 or the GBI at 800-597-8477.