Families dodge bullets at Covington duplex during drive-by shooting

COVINGTON, Ga. - Brian Allen said a house does not feel like a home unless he has a garden. His is coming together after almost a year of living in Covington, but he said that does not matter now.

"I am lucky to be alive. If a bullet went through my head while I was on the phone with my daughter it would have messed her up for life," he said.

Newton County Sheriff's deputies are investigating a weekend drive-by shooting that has left two households searching for a new place to live.

"Anyone could just die for no reason," Allen said. He was home Friday, when someone riddled a two-family home with bullets on Gum Tree Trail.

At least 10 bullets hit his side of the duplex. Several hit his car, causing him to replace a tire and try to patch things up.

"I had to get creative," he explained. "I don't want people to see me in a vehicle with bullet holes, so I put this here," he said, pointing to colorful tape that covers the holes in the body of his car and its side view mirrors.

Other bullets shattered windows on both his side and his adjacent neighbor's.

"Out of nowhere just shots. Just shots over and over again, a lot of them," that woman said. She only felt comfortable speaking anonymously over the phone.

She and her young boys dodged the gunfire and she said they will not return.

"I've been living there for five years. This is the third time it has happened. It's not safe for my boys. It's not safe for the kids in the neighborhood. There's an elementary school down the street," she explained. "Someday something's going to connect and I don't want to be there for it."

Newton County Sheriff's deputies are investigating, but everyone who lives in that duplex agrees, it can no longer be their home.