Two men face felony charges in connection to a shooting at an Ellabell convenience store.

Kevin Jermaine Johnson, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene after Bryan County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Zip ‘N’ Foods on Hwy. 204, said John Durden, special agent-in-charge of the Statesboro Region 5 office of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Wandell Hills, Jr., 36, and Tavarus Brown, 38, were charged in the murder, he said. Addresses for the victim and suspects were not immediately available.

Around 2:24 p.m. on Wednesday, deputies responded to the call “in reference to an unresponsive male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds,” Durden said in a statement released Friday.  

The case is still under investigation, but deputies and GBI agents determined a “verbal dispute began in the parking lot of the gas station which escalated to a physical altercation with a gun being drawn” by Hills.

The fight continued between the three, with the gun changing hands from Hills to Brown, he said.

“Johnson was then shot multiple times outside the store before fleeing into the store, where he was shot several more times,” Durden said.

Hills and Brown fled the scene, but were soon taken into custody by the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office. Hills is charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Brown is charged with party to the crime of murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

The investigation was turned over to the GBI Region 5 office. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 653-3800 or the GBI Region 5 Office at (912) 871-1121, asking for Durden or Lindsay Smith, assistant special agent-in-charge.