Family says jealousy, not vapes, got two Gwinnett brothers killed

A Gwinnett County mother rushed home from work Wednesday night to find her two teenage sons shot steps from home, and now wants answers as police charge a 19-year-old they say shot them during a vape sale.

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Megan Boykin was 45 minutes away when her daughter called, scared after hearing 10 gunshots. She raced home and found her sons, Jordan, 17, and Antonie, 14, at the corner of her own street.

“They would not even tell me if that was my children on the ground,” Boykin said.

The brothers were best friends, she said. Jordan played football and hoped to make the team at Collins Hill, while Antonie washed neighbors’ cars and trash cans.

“They look out for everybody. They mean no harm to nobody. They was great kids, and I miss them,” Boykin said.

Gwinnett County police said officers found both brothers shot on Heather Stone Way in Lawrenceville around 8:30 p.m., and both died at the scene. On Thursday, police announced the arrest of Alexander Canela-Panchi, 19.

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Detectives said he met the brothers to sell them vape cartridges and shot both when an argument broke out during the sale. He faces two counts each of felony murder and aggravated assault, plus gun and drug distribution charges.

The brothers’ family says the shooting had nothing to do with drugs and everything to do with jealousy.

Their aunt, Genea Harris, who loved the brothers like her own sons, said they sold shoes together and that the 19-year-old lived nearby.

“This person was supposed to be a friend of my nephew’s, and he clearly was not,” Harris said. “My nephew made money. That is what they wanted, was his money.”

Harris said Jordan often carried cash, his phone and his car keys, and none of it was there after the shooting, which she says doesn’t fit a drug deal.

“My kids didn’t have guns on them. My kids didn’t do that. My nieces and nephews, we don’t do that. That is not who we are. That is not who they were,” Harris said.

Boykin, a mother of six, said she wants justice and answers.

“I really hope that people take heed to gun violence and keep your children close,” Boykin said.

A GoFundMe to help the family pay for the brothers’ funerals is at https://www.gofundme.com/f/forever-14-17-honoring-jordan-antoine-boykin

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