Atlanta — A man fatally shot a teenager who accidentally knocked on the wrong apartment door in Atlanta, WSB-TV reported. It happened about 12:30 a.m. Friday at The Retreat apartment complex in southwest Atlanta, according to the station.
Omarian Banks, 19, was dropped off by a Lyft near the wrong breezeway in the complex, police said, according to WSB-TV. Banks and his girlfriend had just moved to the complex and Banks wasn’t familiar with the area, police said. Banks was using FaceTime to talk with his girlfriend when he knocked on the door he thought was his. Shortly after, he walked away.
The man inside, Darryl Bynes, 32, grabbed a gun and went onto his balcony to confront Banks, police said. They said after a short conversation, Bynes shot him. Police said Bynes told them he shot Banks in self-defense.
Banks girlfriend, Zsakeria Mathis, recounted what she heard over the FaceTime call.
“I just hear faint voices and a gunshot, and then I hear him yell,” Mathis told WSB-TV. “And I heard all the fear in his voice and he was just, ‘I’m sorry! I’m at the wrong door!’ The man was like, ‘No, you’re not at the wrong door!’ And he shot two more times and then it was silent.”
Michael Wallace, a family friend, described Banks as a hard-working man who never bothered anybody. “This is a 19-year-old child that didn’t even deserve to die, that hasn’t even lived his life,” Wallace told WSB-TV.
Bynes is charged with murder. It’s unclear if he has an attorney.
Makayla Johnson, who identified herself as Bynes’ cousin, told WSB-TV the charge was unfair.
“He is an innocent father,” Johnson said. “He has five kids. His truck was stolen earlier this week. Right now, he’s just trying to protect his family.”
