Justin Etienne, an 18-year-old Salem High School student, was fatally shot on March 19, 2025, in a wooded area of Denny Dobbs Park in Covington during a Senior Skip Day gathering of students from Newton and Rockdale County schools. First responders arrived just before 5 p.m.; Etienne was transported to a local hospital and later died. Investigators later described him as an innocent bystander in the altercation that led to the shooting.

The Newton County Sheriff’s Office reported that conflicting statements from multiple student witnesses initially complicated the investigation. Search warrants and evidence collection led to three arrests: 16-year-old Jarvis Hinton Jr., a Newton High School student, taken into custody March 21, 2025, and charged as an adult with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a person under 18, and reckless conduct; 17-year-old Tashshawn Lyons, a Rockdale County High School student, arrested March 24; and 16-year-old Jordan McIntosh, arrested March 28. Indictments connect the defendants to an assault and robbery of another individual, Luther Hill, during the same incident. All three have been held without bond and had a court appearance scheduled for January 2026.

Are there witnesses or anyone who attended that gathering willing to share what they saw that afternoon?