Source: Family photo via USA Today
A Georgia man is dead and his fiancée is still clinging to life after the pair were kidnapped and shot by a group of men.
According to WXIA Atlanta, the pair were returning home after going out to get food when they were approached by several men who tried to jump them. The couple took off running, but the men were able to catch Brianna Brooks, who was seven months pregnant with the couple’s second child.
“Once he [Jeronta Brown] turned around and seen his fiancée laid out on the ground, he just stopped running and said, ‘You might as well take me too,’” Jeronta’s aunt, Myesha Brown told reporters.
Myesha went on to say that the men tried to force themselves into the house.
“Some of the men walked up and started ringing the doorbell and knocking on the door saying, ‘FBI! FBI!’”
When their attempts to get into the home failed, the men put the couple in the back of a van and drove off. Shortly after, one suspect called a relative’s phone and demanded $150,000. Sadly, Myesha said that officers didn’t act quickly enough, as they believed that the kidnapping was a hoax or some sort of scheme set up by Jeronta.
“We were unable to get the kidnappers what they wanted due to Dekalb County thinking that this was a joke, this was something Jeronta set up,” she said. “For him to do something that would put her [Brianna] in danger? No, that was the love of his life.”
Hours later, both Jeronta and Brianna were found 17 miles away from their home handcuffed, shot in the head and lying in the street. Jeronta died due to his injury. Brianna was rushed to the hospital where she continues to fight for her life. Doctors were able to deliver the baby girl by C-section. She is said to be doing fine. Sadly, her mother’s condition remains uncertain.
The Dekalb County Police Department have not offered comment on their reaction to the kidnapping, but reps have told reporters that they do not believe the victims were randomly targeted.
