The Dalton Police Department arrested 24 year old Andrew Paul Desimone of 1033 Holly Grove Drive on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm after a shooting early Sunday morning on the top floor of the parking deck at Hamilton Medical Center. The victim, 27 year old Kevin Laray Brafford, is in stable condition in intensive care at the hospital.
The incident happened at approximately 5:00 am when Desimone, who had been a patient at the hospital, left his hospital room without being released. Hamilton Medical Center Public Safety began looking for him. Brafford, who was visiting a relative who was a patient at the hospital, went out to the parking deck, apparently to smoke a cigarette. Apparently, Bradford asked Desimone if he had a lighter, and Desimone pulled out a gun from his car and shot him in the abdomen. Desimone then got in his car and drove home. Brafford managed to make it to a stairwell before collapsing, where he was found shortly thereafter by hospital public safety officers looking for Desimone. He was immediately taken into the emergency room.
Once he arrived home, Desimone went inside and left the gun on a counter in the kitchen. 911 dispatchers got a call from a citizen with information about his whereabouts, and officers from the Dalton Police Department went to the home and were able to take him into custody without incident.
This incident remains under investigation, and further charges against Desimone are possible. At this time, investigators believe this was a random incident and that there was no previous connection between Desimone and Brafford.
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