Teen Cederrius Hastings killed, 3 injured in graduation party shooting in Butts Co.

Butts County Sheriff's deputies say a teenager was killed and three others were injured at a graduation party in a drive-by shooting in Jackson Friday night

The victim, Cederrius Hastings, 16, a sophomore at Griffin High School Student was one of four teens shot. The other teens suffered non life-threatening injuries.  Police say all four victims are from Griffin.

Hastings' family described him as an athletic honor roll student. They also said he leaves behind an 8-month-old girl. "He was sweet, funny and goofy," Hastings' cousin Kaniya Jones said. "He always kept a million-dollar smile on his face."

Major Darrell Powers of the Butts County Sheriff's Department told reporters that multiple shots were fired from at least one vehicle. Powers also said there was an exchange of gunfire between people the car and others in the yard. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear Saturday.

Major Powers called the situation heartbreaking. "These are kids that were getting ready to graduate or had just graduated. They were getting ready to start their lives. And now there's something major that has happened with it. For one, there's a family that lost a son," he said.

The Jackson High School graduation ceremony went on as planned Saturday evening. The Butts County Sheriff's Department posted a message on its Facebook page about security at that graduation event. "There have been NO viable threats made against the graduation ceremony, however we are taking all precautions to ensure the safety of everyone in attendance," Sheriff Gary Long said in that post.