ROSWELL, Ga. -- An accidental shooting in the parking lot of a Motorsports store in Roswell left a teen with special needs dead early Tuesday afternoon, and now those teens' caretaker is charged.
35-year-old Gerard K. Brister waived his first appearance in court and was given bond.
During the hearing, Brister's attorney stated that he was "devastated and distraught" over what happened.
"He is actually devastated by it. He never knew anything like this would happen and this was totally unintentional and for him was not forseable. He just didn't expect this your honor," his attorney stated in court.
A judge granted Brister a $15,000 bond, $10,000 on involuntary manslaughter and $5,000 on reckless conduct.
Brister, along with another man, founded the My Buddy & Me program, which catered to teens and young adults in the metro Atlanta area that have special needs, according to their website, which has since been deleted.
They "give parents a chance to recoup and regroup while providing healthy, fun environment for their teens and young adults," according the deleted website.
11Alive's Joe Henke confirmed through state records that the organization My Buddy & Me was licensed to operate as a non-profit business in Georgia, but that a state investigation was opened into the company.
Brister has had no previous run-ins with the law.
His preliminary hearing will be held on July 19 and in that time, Brister is not allowed to have any firearms in his possession.
BACKGROUND |
Roswell Police said a group of teens and who also have special needs, stopped at Mountain Motorsports on their way to a camping trip.
Police said six teens were left inside the vehicle in the parking lot of the store in the 1200 block of Upper Hembree Road at about 12:45 p.m., while the adult chaperone, Brister, went inside.
“It appears the gun was in the vehicle," Sgt. Zachary Frommer. "It was a vehicle that I believe belongs to the chaperone or at least was being driven by the chaperone. The chaperone went in the store and left the kids in the car.”
According to police, one of the teens, a 21-year-old with "significantly diminished capabilities" allegedly picked up the gun from under the seat and shot and killed 17-year-old Zachary Chambless of Dunwoody with the gun.
Police said witnesses told them they heard the gunshots.
“I heard two gun shots go off," said Rhiannon Lindsay, a witness. "They were right after each other, just two, quick pops.”
A bystander in the parking lot, a 63-year-old man not connected to the group, was grazed in the hand. Authorities said he drove himself to the hospital.
PHOTOS: Teen with special needs killed in Roswell shooting
While officials have charged Brister, they say the Fulton County District Attorney's Office could charge him with more counts of reckless conduct because of the number of victims and the nature of the situation.
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