A late-evening shooting in a Lilburn parking lot left 16-year-old Ryan Rodriguez Romero dead and a 17-year-old girl seriously hurt. The shooting occurred in the 700 block of Beaver Ruin Road outside La Mexicana Supermarket on the evening of November 16, 2022. Elizabeth Bravo of Norcross was struck and taken to a hospital in stable condition; Romero, from Peachtree Corners, managed to drive away but was later found deceased inside his vehicle on Vernon Street.

Investigators used witness statements and surveillance footage to identify two 16-year-old suspects — a boy from Lilburn and a girl from Lawrenceville — who were later located and arrested in Fort Walton, Florida, by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. The suspects were charged with malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault and were to be handled as juveniles. A police report noted witnesses said shots were fired from a van into the victims’ car and suggested the shooting may have been linked to a drug transaction.

If anyone witnessed the shooting in the La Mexicana parking lot or saw a van leaving the scene that night, please share what was seen or any tip that could help.