2 killed in Canton shootout, police investigating motive

William Kendrick Randall and Tony Samples are identified as the victims of the shooting spree.

CANTON — Canton Police say two Cherokee County men were killed during a shootout in Canton late Sunday night, and one man was injured.

William Kendrick Randall, 23, of Canton, and Tony Samples, 26, of Ball Ground were identified as the victims of the shooting spree, police said. One man who was wounded and taken to WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center has not been identified.

Law enforcement had not determined a motive or made any arrests late Monday afternoon after investigators finished processing the shooting scene, according to Canton Police Chief Mark Mitchell, as the investigation is still ongoing.

“(We’re) still trying to put the pieces of that puzzle together to see exactly what occurred, what the motive was, who the suspects are,” he said.

Officers responded to calls of multiple gunshots near Crisler Street about 11:20 p.m. Sunday night, police said. As law enforcement responded to the scene, another call to emergency dispatch revealed several people had been shot and seriously injured.

When police arrived, they found Randall dead in a grassy area in front of St. Paul AME Church on Crisler Street in the predominately community and another man wounded at a residence in the housing projects off Jefferson Circle.

Samples, who had been shot, was located in a vehicle near the area and died as he was taken to the hospital, police said.

Mitchell said he did not have an update on the wounded victim’s condition at this time, but said he was being treated at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

One detail of the crime investigators are trying to pin down is exactly how many shooters were involved, Mitchell said. But law enforcement believes the double homicide might have been the work of more than one gunman.

“Just from what we can tell, there were a lot of rounds fired,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out right now exactly how many shooters there were. We believe there was more than one.”

Visit www.tribuneledgernews.com for more news from The Cherokee Tribune.