A July 3, 2018 outing for a group of teens and young adults with special needs ended in tragedy in Roswell, Georgia, when 17-year-old Zachary Chambless was fatally shot in the parking lot of Mountain Motorsports on Upper Hembree Road. The program co-founder and caretaker, 35-year-old Gerard K. Brister, left six of the young men, including Zachary, unattended in an SUV while he went into the store. While Brister was inside, a 21-year-old member of the group found a handgun left under a seat, picked it up, and accidentally shot Zachary; witnesses reported hearing two quick gunshots. A 63-year-old bystander was grazed on the hand and drove to a hospital; Zachary died at the scene.

Roswell police described the shooting as accidental but charged Brister with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct because the firearm belonged to him and had been left accessible in the vehicle. Brister was arrested and held on a $15,000 bond. Zachary, a Dunwoody High School student with severe seizure disorder and autism, loved things that flew and communicated with a joyful smile; his family released 250 balloons at his memorial.

Did anyone attend the program or the July 3 outing and have details about supervision or how the firearm came to be left in the vehicle?