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Atlanta Man Accused Of Fatally Shooting Teen Who Knocked On The Wrong Door, Despite Pleas For His Life
The girlfriend of 19-year-old Omarian Banks heard him call out “I’m sorry! I’m at the wrong door!” before two more gunshots were fired. Darryl Bynes, 32, is in custody.
An Atlanta man allegedly shot a 19-year-old man who had mistakenly knocked on the wrong door believing he was at the apartment he shared with his girlfriend.
Darryl Bynes, 32, has been charged with murder after police say he shot Omarian Banks from his balcony as the teen was walking away despite the teen's pleas for his life, WSB-TV reports.
Banks was on a FaceTime call with his girlfriend, Zsakeria Mathis, around 12:30 a.m. Friday when a Lyft driver dropped him off at an apartment complex the couple had recently moved into. Many of the apartment buildings looked the same and Bynes mistakenly went to the wrong door telling Mathis to open the door.
It would be the last conversation the two would have. When Bynes didn’t come in the door, Mathis walked outside to the front porch when she heard voices.
Police said Bynes came out of the home and went out to his balcony where he confronted Banks, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“I just hear faint voices and a gunshot, and then I hear him yell,” Mathis said. “And I heard all the fear in his voice and he was just, ‘I’m sorry! I’m at the wrong door!’”
Mathis then told the local station she heard a man’s voice reply back “No, you’re not at the wrong door!” before she heard two more final shots.
She ran down to the parking lot where she found her boyfriend bleeding to death.
“He was moaning and groaning and he had tears in his eyes and he was just bleeding,” she said.
Banks was shot in the neck and died at the scene, CNN reports.
Bynes initially told police he had shot the teen in self defense but police said evidence at the scene suggested the teen was walking away at the time of the confrontation.
Makayla Johnson, who identified herself to WSB as Bynes’ cousin, described him as an “innocent” father of five.
“He was protecting his family,” she said. “His truck was stolen earlier this week. Right now, he’s just trying to protect his family.”
