LEESBURG, Ga. (WALB) — Attorneys for the Lee County family members who said they were targeted by a man who shouted racial slurs and fired shots at them during a family gathering have issued a statement on Tuesday, June 16.

36-year-old Jeffrey Tyler Kinzer reportedly opened fire with an AR-15 rifle at the family’s front yard gathering in Lee County on Sunday, June 7. He was charged for one count of aggravated assault by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and he was released on a $5,000 bond. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is assisting in the investigation.

The June 16 statement from the Law Office of J.B. Collins, P.C. out of Atlanta reads, in part:

“We do not understand or agree with the initial decisions made by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office to only charge Jeffrey Tyler Kinzer with one count of aggravated assault… In addition we do not understand why Jeffrey Tyler Kinzer received a bond in the amount of $5,000 prior to any of the victims being notified prior to the granting of this bond.”

The statement also said that attorneys hope investigators will bring “appropriate charges” against Kinzer.

Lee County District Attorney Lewis Lamb also released a statement Tuesday. Read it, in part, below.

“Every effort is being made to identify witnesses and victims, so the Lee County Sheriff’s Office and/or the GBI can draft appropriate warrants, and so my office will have sufficient information from which to craft an indictment…Neither the investigating agencies nor a district attorney can bring charges based only on an allegation that some number of people were present at the time of the crime… Instead, the victim(s) must be identified by name in a warrant or indictment. Therefore, it is essential that anyone with information about the incident be identified and interviewed.”

For DA Lamb’s full statement, click here.

Lamb went on to encourage anyone with further information to report it to investigators.

Any individuals with information or video footage of the incident are asked to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 3 Field Office at 229-931-2439.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1(800) 597-TIPS (8477), online here or by downloading the “See Something, Send Something” mobile app.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.