By Mark Woolsey

[The Cobb County Courier has a policy of withholding or redacting the name of suspects unless and until the person is convicted in a court of law or enters a plea of guilty. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty, and the internet has no effective way of removing reports of arrest if the person is exonerated. We do make exceptions in high-profile cases or charges against public officials where exoneration is likely to be as widely publicized as the initial arrest]

Powder Springs police have identified both the victims and suspect in a double-homicide on Saturday.

Authorities say 72-year-old Monica Brookins and 73-year-old John Wells were found critically injured with gunshot wounds after police responded to a domestic disturbance call in the 3200 block of Yoshino Terrace. Both died after being rushed to a hospital. Authorities got the call at about 12:30 p.m.

The suspect is identified as a 31-year-old man who is Brookins’s son and Wells’s stepson. He’s charged with two counts of murder, eight counts of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm during commission of  a crime. He remains in custody.

Authorities have not said what led up to the gunfire. Their investigation is ongoing.

Background

The following is the text of the original article published in the Courier on December 7:

Powder Springs police say two people are dead after gunfire broke out Saturday afternoon.

The department says officers were dispatched to an address on Yoshino Terrace at roughly 12:30 p.m. and found two people in their mid 70s in critical condition from gunshot wounds. They were rushed to a hospital where they later died.

A 31-year-old man who lives at the home was taken into custody. Authorities have not detailed the relationship between the older people and younger man in what they call a domestic incident. They say the names are not being released pending notification of next of kin.

Authorities also say this was an isolated incident and that there’s no threat to the community. They’re probing what led up to the shooting.Anybody with further information’s being asked to contact police.