Nineteen-year-old Omarian Banks had recently moved into a new gated community in Atlanta. After exiting a Lyft and knocking on a door at his complex, he was shot and killed Friday morning.
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He had knocked on the wrong door.
Banks was using FaceTime to talk to his girlfriend when he knocked on the misidentified door. He was confronted by 32-year-old Darryl Bynes would shoot Banks after a short confrontation.
Banksโ girlfriend Zsakeria Mathis told WSB-TV that she heard โfaint voices and a gunshot, and then I hear him yell,โ Mathis said. โAnd I heard all the fear in his voice and he was just, โIโm sorry! Iโm at the wrong door!โ The man was like, โNo, youโre not at the wrong door!โ And he shot two more times and then it was silent.โ
Banks thought he was at Mathisโ home.
โHe was moaning and groaning and he had tears in his eyes and he was just bleeding,โ Mathis told WSB-TV.
Bynes told police he shot Banks in self-defense. Banks, described as a hard worker by family friends, was shot while making his way down the stairs away from Bynes.
Bynes has been charged with murder.
A GoFundMe for Banksโ funeral costs has been set up by the family. Lisa Johnson, Banksโ mom, had questions.
โIโm having a hard time understanding that someone could be that mean and hurt a child,โ Johnson said. โStop and think before you pull the trigger,โ Johnson said.
Johnson hopes her sonโs death wakes people up to the value of human life.
โItโs no joke. You could be here today and gone tomorrow,โ Johnson said. โStop and think before you pull the trigger.โ
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