HALL COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE NEWS RELEASE:
“A Gainesville teenager was killed and a Gainesville man was critically injured when an
argument at a location off Roy Parks Road escalated into gunfire Wednesday night.
Just after 9 p.m., deputies with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) were dispatched to a
residence in the 3000 block of Southchase Drive (located just off Roy Parks Road) to
investigate a report of an argument involving gunshots. When they arrived at the scene,
deputies found one person dead and another wounded outside of a shed on the property.
The deceased was identified as Paul Statham, Jr., 17. He had been shot multiple times.
Statham’s body has been sent to the GBI Crime Lab for autopsy. The injured man was
identified as Tyrenskie Odem, 31. Odem suffered a single gunshot wound to the pelvic area.
He remains hospitalized.
At this point in the investigation, HCSO criminal investigators believe Statham arrived at
the house and began a verbal argument with Odem. When Statham produced a gun and
fired at Odem, a third party at the scene shot at Statham, striking him and killing him. That
person has cooperated with the HCSO investigation and has not been charged.
The investigation remains active.”