Sentence: Life without parole in deadly shooting

‘This incident didn’t have to end in Mr. Scott’s death. This conviction is a sign that wouldbe shooters should think twice before reaching for a deadly weapon.’ Patsy Austin-Gatson Gwinnett district attorney

A 25-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus five years after being found guilty in a deadly shooting at a Gwinnett County apartment in January 2021.

A jury took less than an hour to convict Karre Rivers of malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the killing of 30-year-old O’Shane Scott, the District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

On the afternoon of the shooting, Scott was with his girlfriend in the parking lot of The Aurora at Twenty Seven Hundred apartments just outside Lilburn. At some point, Rivers arrived and both men went into the apartment, officials said.

Soon after, the woman heard gunfire. She rushed into the apartment and passed Rivers, who “hurried by with both his hands shoved into his pockets,” according to prosecutors. She found Scott with multiple gunshot wounds and called police. He died shortly after.

Authorities said that when police arrested Rivers, he initially told investigators that he found Scott bleeding out and that someone named “Bino” shot him. He eventually admitted that “words were exchanged” and he punched Scott in the face, prosecutors said. A scuffle then ensued and Scott grabbed him. Rivers told investigators that he opened fire because Scott also had a gun.

“Gun violence is never a way to resolve a dispute,” Gwinnett District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said in a statement. “This incident didn’t have to end in Mr. Scott’s death. This conviction is a sign that would-be shooters should think twice before reaching for a deadly weapon.”