By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Atmore police reported Tuesday, June 24, that a predawn shooting on Carver Avenue has left a former Escambia County High School (ECHS) student-athlete dead.
According to police reports, 17-year-old Gabriel Hooks died at Atmore Community Hospital (ACH) early Tuesday morning after having been taken there, apparently by private vehicle, immediately after the incident.
Police reports show officers responded to ACH around 1:50 a.m. after hospital staff reported a gunshot victim was being treated in the facility’s emergency department.
When officers arrived, they learned that the teen had died from his injuries and that a second victim, who has not been identified by police, was flown to an area trauma center with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Details were still sketchy at Tuesday’s press deadline, but police divulged that the fatal shooting occurred near the intersection of Carver Avenue and 18th Avenue. No motive for the gunplay was revealed.
When APD investigators processed the crime scene, they recovered “dozens” of spent shell casings.
Hooks, who stood 5-feet-8 and weighed 255 pounds, was a two-year starter on the ECHS defensive line and saw extensive action on the offensive line.
Former ECHS coach Vincent Harris, on whose teams Hooks played for two years, posted the following sentiments on his Facebook page:
“Life is so unfair,” Harris wrote. “Rest in peace, G. You were one of my favorite kids, you always had a smile on your face, and you loved life. You will be missed, my boy.”
No arrest had been announced by Tuesday’s press deadline in connection with the homicidal act.