Police report no injuries in late Saturday night shooting

An Austell man remains in custody on multiple charges after he was involved in a shooting incident in the Rockmart area, where fortunately no one was injured.

Ruben Jotham Gant, 28, of 1500 Walton Reserve Blvd., Austell, remained in custody as of this posting on June 9 after being arrested on June 5 on a trio of felony and two misdemeanor charges for shooting at relatives of a woman he was involved with while being pursued by those same family members.

Police initially responded to the incident as a traffic stop following the reports of shots being fired late on Saturday night, June 5 in the area around South Newcomb Street and South Piedmont Avenue.

After some investigation, police got a better understanding of the events that happened and why Gant felt he needed to shoot.

Detective B. Brady reported back following the arrest that the whole incident began at a birthday party for a child, where Gant and a woman he was involved with were involved in an argument and believed to have turned toward a domestic incident between the pair. Family got involved in the incident and when they thought he was forcing his partner to leave, her family began to chase him.

They all stopped in the area around Blue Hole and Piedmont Avenue, and Gant was reported to have fired several shots at the family members who were in pursuit, and then he was ultimately stopped after firing additional shots during a traffic stop conducted by Polk County Police.

Once investigators got a clear picture of what happened after Gant was initially detained in the stop and family members were questioned, he was finally charged with felonies for aggravated assault, cruelty to children in the first degree, and possession of knife or firearm during commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies. He was also charged with misdemeanors for discharge of firearms on or near public highway or street and reckless conduct.

Gant is still being held in the Polk County Jail with bond denied.