SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
Jackson Road Elementary School was briefly placed on lock down when an alleged domestic dispute ended in gunfire in front of the school.
According to Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, Spalding County E911 at approximately 1:19 p.m. Tuesday received a report of shots fired in that area.
When deputies arrived, they found a red pickup truck facing westbound on Jackson Road just before Jackson Road Elementary School.
“They made contact with two people, one identified as 43-year-old Emoni Taylor and a female, 44-year-old Shateema Daniels.
Deputies got out with the subjects. Taylor and Daniel both stated that they were in the vehicle when they became involved in a heated domestic dispute,” Dix said.
From this point, Taylor and Daniels’ stories vastly differ.
“According to Taylor, Daniel began driving the vehicle erratically. In an attempt to get it to stop, he was able to manipulate the steering wheel, get the truck to stop, put it in park and cut it off. Taylor said that when the vehicle came to a stop, his pistol slid out from under the seat and was retrieved by Shateema Daniels, who then exited the vehicle and fired a single shot at him through the open vehicle door,” Dix said. “According to Shateema Daniels, Taylor began striking her. Taylor attempted to retrieve the pistol. Daniels and Taylor both fought over the pistol. Daniels was able to get control of the pistol. She exited the vehicle and pointed at Taylor and the weapon accidentally discharged. According to Daniel she had texted someone earlier saying that Taylor had hit her again, so it appears there was a physical altercation at another location prior to this.”
Jackson Road Elementary School staff reported hearing the shot fired, but there were no witnesses to the incident.
As the incident unfolded, the school was placed on lock down as a precaution.
Both Taylor and Daniels were arrested and are being held in the Spalding County Jail. Taylor was charged with simple battery under the Georgia Family Violence Act, and Daniels was charged with aggravated assault under the Georgia Family Violence Act.
“There were no shots fired at the school It just so happened that the location where they had their domestic dispute was on Jackson Road right before the school. Children were not in danger at any time. I went up to the school and spoke with the principal and reported it was safe to take the school off lock down,” Dix said.
