Family believes 23-year-old man not the target of Buckhead triple shooting
Young man fatally shot in triple shooting that also injured Ludacris' longtime manager, family wants answers
A DeKalb County family wants answers after 23-year-old Artez Benton was shot and killed in the triple shooting that also injured the longtime manager of Ludacris, Chaka Zulu. Benton's family members are in disbelief saying that the bullet he took was not meant for him.
ATLANTA - A DeKalb County family wants answers about why their loved was killed during a triple shooting in Buckhead that also injured the music manager for Ludacris.
Atlanta police have not released a lot of information on the triple shooting, but the family of Artez Benton is demanding justice.
"He told me, he loved me, and his books...everything...are still there on the table," mom Bridgette Benton said, as she fought back tears.
Artez Benton (Family photo)
Benton had no idea Sunday would be her last time seeing her only son alive.
Artez Benton had a bright future ahead of him. He went out Sunday night on Peachtree Road in Buckhead.
Artez Benton (Family photo)
Atlanta police said there was a dispute on the parking lot that led to a shooting. "Tez," as he is affectionately called, didn't survive.
"We don't know what's going on period nobody is keeping us in the loop. The detective said she has to do administrative work for a couple of days. It just doesn't seem that anyone is caring," an upset Arteria Benton said.
"Tez" was a scholar athlete at Young Harris. He graduated with a business degree.
Artez Benton (Family photo)
The family believes the bullet that the 23-year-old took was not meant for him.
"Not thinking that your brother, who does everything right, could be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The world is not the same anymore," Tez's oldest sister Bria Benton recalled.
Atlanta police investigate a shooting that killed one and left two injured in the parking lot of a strip of businesses off Peachtree Road on June 26, 2022. (FOX 5)
Tez was fatally shot at the same time Ludacris' manager and a third man was shot. The Benton family said they do not know music manager Chaka Zulu and never imagined they would be burying their son who had so much promise.
"We turned on the news every day, not material what time someone is killed. To lose a son to gun violence is devastating," Artis Benton, the victim’s father, responded.