I agree Tammy. Such a pointless act. So devastating for Paul Sampleton's family.

Possessions aren't worth the loss of an innocent life. R.I.P. Paul.

Three future career criminals. The bad thing is they will serve minimal time and get out just to commit numerous future crimes. Where are their parents? What do they have to say of the monsters they have propagated?

Goodness heavens they're all just kids, kids killing kids...and over sneakers???

These kids lived not far from the development where a bunch of firearms were stolen. I hope the one they used wasn't one of them being that case was never solved, that would be so sad!!

Edward- I don't understand what you mean. Is it sad that the stolen gun case never got solved, sad that they might have used a weapon that was stolen or sad that these kid's parents were crap examples and did not teach their kids right from wrong? I say the latter.

All of the above Racer X...although parenting isn't always to blame.

Frankly speaking Racer if you own a bunch of firearms that are not secure and get stolen from your house and then used in a senseless killing I think you should lose your carry permit etc. I'm a lifetime member of the NRA and the right to bare and carry firearms has been misconstrued. It all comes down to being a responsible gun owner.

Tammy, I went to South Gwinnett HS back when Snellville was more like Mayberry (1980). What has become of Gwinnett County? It's very sad.

This is very sad, a teen killed over nothing, & 3 teens messed up they lives over nothing, smh rip Paul.

It just goes to show, greed and selfishness are greater than friendship and being a teammate. These 3 cowards will NEVER regret what they did to Paul. They should experience the same feeling that Paul did. The justice system will now protect these low lifes, something Paul did not have. The trial should not take long, the execution should be quicker than the trial. No excuse OR defense for this act. AMFs.

The issues are not always the parents fault. Teens go to school; they listen to music; they watch tv shows and movies. They are influenced by a lot of things, so it isn't the parents fault because you don't know how much their parents tried to talked to them. It isn't fair to criticize their parenting or To call them irresponsible. I go to GHS and these kind of guys are in the school not Everyone but there are some. At the end of the day these kids are their own persons and what they do is a conscious decision. No matter If they listened to their parents teaching.

I think our society is now one that no longer holds people accountable until it reaches an extreme situation like this. We no longer teach that there are consequences for actions, so when actions are so extreme that consequences are unavoidable, they're shocked.

Let's not focus on these three bad seeds. There are LOT of really good kids at Grayson High School. Academic and athletic champions. Leaders in their school and their community. I know many of these kids and I've seen still more in the community who treat each other with kindness and respect. Please don't let the actions of a few overshadow the majority.

That's right Susan - there is good and bad in every society and there are some great things going on at Grayson High School. Here's a perfect example http://loganville.patch.com/articles/ghs-students-give-back-to-the-community-in-a-fashionable-way#c

just when I think people cannot possibly get any more stupid, I read this.

This kind of crime just doesn't make sense. Its not that they killed him over something minor like sneakers, but why? You couldn't make payments toward the shoes or if you were bent on stealing them you couldn't distract him while one of you stole the shoes while the others kept him distracted----really you had no other way of getting those sneakers but to kill him to get those sneakers??? There's something wrong here. You sure this wasn't a gang slaying and these three boys aren't protecting the gang? I feel sorry for the victims family----I hope this wasn't their only kid, that would make it an even more overwhelming tragedy!!!

We don't know enough of the facts at this point and probably won't until the trial, but it would seem possible that he walked in on them and since the were fellow students would obviously be able to identify them. Maybe they were already in trouble and being identified was the biggest issue. Whatever the reason, the senselessness is so tragic.

Kid looks like he comes from a broken down family--one parent ? Same with all the gangs, but Liberals will blame the NRA--GUNS--GUN owners,

so much black on black crime for NOTHING. Where is Jesse jackson and Al Sharpton?

What First 48.....you'll have your eyes opened. How uncaring about human lives those goofs are. All uneducated and with minimal skills.

Too bad kids don't comment on local Patch blogs. We could get some insight on these boys' personalities, and really get an understanding of what happened. I bet Twitter is probably blowing up right now.

Sharpton and Jackson won't address Black on Black crime as it is unpopular to do so. Bill Cosby got crucified for pointing out that a Black man's worst enemy is other Black men. Once Sharpton and Jackson stop blaming Whitey for Black problems, they are out of business.

black on black crime...should not count in the stats as it is expected

So terrible he had to die over shoes.

There shouldn't be high end shoes! The kids can't all afford them. Just plain cheap shoes from Walmart. Same with jackets and coats.There should be a govt panel to enforce this. It would be worth this if it saves one child!

I hope they lock those three up and throw away the key. See how tough they are in prison.

Wow! What you might not know is that Paul earned money to pay for his high shoes. We should not ban things so that others are not tempted to steal. We should begin teaching our children at a very young age to earn what they want and live without things you can not afford.

By the way, I really wish this was not a place to leave such blatant comments of hatred....especially when referring to kids.

Tammy, I believe the other 2 boys will be charged with murder, and more kids are going to be arrested. It's obvious that either one or both of the other suspects were given a fake early deal to get them to talk. When the police gets enough information, they'll all go down for murder.

Tammy, will this scenario ever stop playing out? Everything I hear about Paul is that he's a sweet kid. He likes to laugh and never hurt anyone. Didn't this earth need this nice kid to grow old and have kids?

The investigation is ongoing, so I expect more charges to be filed and possibly more arrests too.

I really have to disagree with the 'ban Air Jordan and designer sneaker" comment. What's next - Coco Chanel and Louis Vuitton? Accountability must be placed on the individuals involved, not tangible merchandise.

As for the investigation; I hope that the police have the the proper evidence necessary to secure hard convictions so that these murderers are put away long enough to learn a very valuable lesson! Thou shall not murder!

Lets blame the parents the mother of one of the kids is a Christian single woman who has done her best to raise her child / don't believe everything you hear in the news what happen to inocent until proven guilty /our coumnity is hurting our kids are hurting we stood by a screaming mother loosing her child we stood by our kids in tears and hurt and trying to comfort them now we stand by a mother who I know for years who son I take to church and is part of the family once again we stand in tears once again our kids and hurt and disbelieve we need prayers for our kids only God knows the truth so we stand btween 2 mothers one woman who will never see her child and one mother who never see her child again and may be wrongly accuse /

Lets blame the parents the mother of one of the kids is a Christian single woman who has done her best to raise her child / don't believe everything you hear in the news what happen to inocent until proven guilty /our coumnity is hurting our kids are hurting we stood by a screaming mother loosing her child we stood by our kids in tears and hurt and trying to comfort them now we stand by a mother who I know for years who son I take to church and is part of the family once again we stand in tears once again our kids and hurt and disbelieve we need prayers for our kids only God knows the truth so we stand btween 2 mothers one woman who will never see her child and one mother who may never see her child again and may be wrongly accuse / lets blame the absent fathers in their lives why don't we

Ana is right - all of this needs to be covered in prayer. It's a bad situation all the way around.

What a senseless loss. First, the young man who was murdered over SNEAKERS; now three teens who will likely spend the rest of their lives (if they are not behind bars and, actually even if they are), as career criminals. As they are all being charged as adults, and this does appear to have been premeditated from what I've read, that is first degree murder and if the prosecutor chooses, they could all end up with a death penalty sentence. Their families must be in shock, who could or would imagine their child having done something like this? My hopes and prayers are with all of the families, but especially to Paul's family.

tj,
A gun is only a weapon in the hands of one who wants to use it as one. Golf clubs, baseball bats, cars, kitchen knives, pens/pencils and even bare hands are just as much as a weapon as a gun.

WOW WOW WOW @ some of this ignorant comments!!! Paul and the suspects attended school with my daughter. This senseless tradegy is too close to home. I''m numb and still can't wrap my brain around it all. God bless us all!

Correction:Tragedy

My cousin was in Paul's fourth period . She said that he used to make the whole class laugh. Too bad they won't get to have that anymore.

Reading all of this foolery just reminded me as to why I try not to read these blogs. Paul is my 14 yr old cousin. Paul and my son were born just 3 days apart. From the beginning of this tragedy all the way up to now, my cousin (Paul's mother), his father, our family has to try to find a way to go on with our lives. Paul was not a gang member, his parents raised him and trained him up the way he should go, he earned money to purchase his sneakers as well as his parents being the amazing parents they are did their job and provided for their child. It is sad that because of jealousy, greed and envy we will no longer see his handsome face again. What is even more astounding to me is some of these comments I have seen on this blog. All I can do is pray for the ignorant ones.

SMDH130,
My heart grieves for your family's loss.

I had a horrible nightmare last week about losing my son to a violent crime and I woke very upset. I couldn't get it out of my head for days. I can't even imagine living the pain of such a loss for real. My prayers go out to you all and I hope that the guilty are brought to justice.

It is horrible the ignorance of society, and I am equally as sorry that your family must endure such cruel and uneducated remarks made on these message boards. However, freedom of speech, no matter how distasteful it may be - is a right worth protecting. I only wish society were more humane when exercising said freedom.

A few years ago, I had my dream townhouse picked out in the very community where your cousin lives, had the application completed, but unfortunately it didn't work out. It is a lovely neighborhood, and I felt I would be very happy there. Met some nice folks while I was touring the open town homes there.

By all the testimonies I have read about your young cousin, it seems that he was a fine young man. As the saying goes, "only the good die young."

Again, my sincerest condolences to you and your family. May God bring you peace and comfort through the wonderful memories of your cousin, and knowing that you have a guardian angel in heaven.

@SMDH 130 - My sincere heart felt condolences to you and your family. I can't begin to imagine what it's been like for those that were close to this fine young man. I will keep you and your family and friends in my prayers.

Never stop sharing your memories, fun times, laughter, jokes and stories of Paul.

R.I.P. Paul!!