A late-night shooting on Weaver Road in Ray City, Georgia, left 42-year-old Michael Paris dead on May 18, 2026. Deputies from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office found Paris in the roadway with gunshot wounds around 10:18 p.m.; he was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the inquiry and will perform an autopsy in Macon to determine cause and manner of death.

Investigators quickly identified and arrested a 15-year-old male from Ray City, Austin Abrams, who was booked into the Waycross Regional Youth Detention Center. The GBI charged Abrams with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Motive and the nature of any relationship between Paris and the juvenile suspect have not been released.

Anyone with information about Michael Paris, the shooting on Weaver Road, or events leading up to May 18 is asked to come forward to assist the ongoing investigation.