Valdosta man in critical condition after Thanksgiving shooting attack

Kasmira Smith, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·2 min read
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Nov. 28—VALDOSTA — A 52-year old Valdosta man is in critical condition after receiving injuries in a shooting incident on Thanksgiving night.The Valdosta Police Department issued a press release on its Facebook Monday evening about the attack.

The VPD release identified Damion McKinney, 44 years of age, as the alleged shooter in the incident. McKinney received felony charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Valdosta Police Officers and Emergency Medical Services responded to the 300 block of East Adair Street on Nov. 23 at approximately 9:50 p.m. after receiving an E911 report from an unnamed caller stating a subject appeared to have fallen and was bleeding from the head.

"When first responders arrived on the scene, they found a 52-year-old male, later identified as Jerry Rowley, with severe injuries to his face. As they began rendering first aid, they realized that Rowley had a gunshot wound to his face," the release said.

The victim was transported to South Georgia Medical Center, where he was stabilized and life flighted to another hospital in Florida. The victim is still listed in critical condition, the VPD release said. The VPD detectives and crime scene personnel's investigation determined that Rowley was shot by an unknown person approximately one hour prior to the caller finding him. The detectives received several tips that they followed up with, along with conducting door to door canvasses in the area.

Detectives then identified the shooter as McKinney and the investigation revealed that this was an unprovoked malicious assault, the VPD release said.

At about 8 p.m. Nov. 24, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for McKinney, as well as a search warrant for his residence. McKinney was taken into custody without incident and the VPD said the detectives located evidence that connected him to the Thursday shooting.The case is still under investigation and further charges are pending.

"I am proud of the work our detectives did by continuing to follow up with every piece of information they received. They worked non-stop to ensure that the offender was identified and can be held accountable for his needless actions," Chief Leslie Manahan said.