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Brewton-Parker athlete shot, killed at off-campus party
Joe Westbury, Christian Index
September 27, 2017
2 MIN READ TIME

Brewton-Parker athlete shot, killed at off-campus party

Brewton-Parker athlete shot, killed at off-campus party
Joe Westbury, Christian Index
September 27, 2017

Brewton-Parker College is mourning the loss of a student who was shot and killed over the weekend in an off-campus party.

Photo by Facebook

Stevenson Derival, who updated his Facebook page in February 2016 with this unidentified image, was shot and killed at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning in an off-campus party. He was a student at Brewton-Parker College.

Stevenson Derival, 20, was attending the house party near the campus in Mount Vernon, Ga., reported Southeastern Georgia television station WTOC. About 200 guests were at the gathering when Derival was killed around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 24. One other person was reportedly injured.

The shooter fled the scene and was being sought by Mount Vernon Police and related law enforcement agencies as of Sept. 26. Police have labeled the death a homicide.

WSAV-TV from Savannah reports that witnesses say the college athlete from Decatur was shot several times during the incident. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Derival was on the college’s track and field team. The newspaper said Mount Vernon Police Chief Calvin Burns noted that with so many people at the party scattering and fleeing the scene, finding the shooter could be difficult.

On Sunday morning the college posted a note of condolence from President Steve Echols on its Facebook page. It read:

“Please pray for the family of Stevenson Derival who passed away early this morning in a tragic off-campus incident,” the statement said. “We are all shocked and broken-hearted to see a friend and student whose life held such promise to be cut short in such a devastating way.

“May we all seek strength and comfort from the Lord Jesus who can give us sustaining grace when we face the deepest loss and grief.”

Police are asking anyone with information on the shooting to contact them at (912) 583-2323.

Brewton-Parker College is one of three institutions of higher learning affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Other schools include Shorter University in Rome and Truett McConnell University in Cleveland.

(EDITOR’S NOTE – Joe Westbury is managing editor of The Christian Index, christianindex.org, the online news service of the Georgia Baptist Convention.)