Funeral For Canton Double Homicide Victim On Friday

CANTON, GA -- The funeral for one of two men who were killed over the weekend near downtown Canton is scheduled for Friday.

Friends and family will bid farewell to Tony A. Samples, 26, of Ball Ground at 2 p.m. June 30 at Sosebee Funeral Home. Sample's burial will follow at the Calvary Baptist Church cemetery.

Samples and William Kendrick Randall, 23, were both fatally shot Sunday, June 25 in the vicinity of Crisler Street and Jefferson Circle, an area located just off East Main Street. The Canton Police Department said the shooting was not a random act, and that its investigation remains active.

Investigators announced late Friday morning that three arrests were made just days after the shooting. According to his obituary, Samples was "a loving father and son."

"He enjoyed hunting and fishing but most of all loved spending time with his family and friends," the obit states.

Officers were dispatched to a shots fired call around 11:20 p.m. on Crisler Street and arrived to find multiple people afflicted with gunshot wounds. One male was found dead in the grassy area adjacent to Crisler Street and another male wounded at a home off Jefferson Circle. The neighborhood sits off East Main Street near St. Paul AME Church Annex. Another male found shot inside a vehicle was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. A third shooting victim was transported to the hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Police Chief Mark Mitchell previously told Patch the agency has received quality information from citizens who've reached out with tips and leads. However, police are not ready to release additional details in the case, including how the victims knew each other, why they were at the location and if they have narrowed down the field of people they are reviewing as part of the case.

Samples is survived by daughters, Sabreyann Samples and Joplin Samples; fiance, Lauren Pate; father and stepmother, Tony and Robin Samples; mother, Melissa Hughes; brother, Brody Samples; niece, Chloe Samples; grandparents, Martha Shirley and Melvin and Beverly Hughes; several aunts, uncles, cousins and extended family members.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to his family to benefit his daughters via GoFundMe.

Image via GoFundMe