The man suspected of gunning down a former friend in front of children in a government housing complex walked off as if nothing happened, calmly discarding the gun in a trash bin, residents said.

When authorities found the suspect the next day at a relative’s house 50 miles away, he was hiding under a bed.

Christopher D. Slaughter, 18, was charged with murder Tuesday in connection with the Monday night fatal shooting of 19-year-old Aikeem Hall near mailboxes at Atlanta Street Apartments. The 7:30 p.m. shooting occurred about 30 feet from a small playground and in full view of at least four children, ages 7 to 14, residents said.

“It’s a shame, young men losing their lives,” said resident Pam Jackson. “And shooting with kids out here.”

Hall was shot multiple times, including a fatal shot to the chest. He staggered a few feet from the mailboxes to an adjoining parking lot before collapsing, said his sister, Angelene Hall.

Hall described her brother as “a goofy person,” who “liked to play a lot.”

“He was liked by many,” she said.

Hall confirmed that the man accused of shooting her brother was at one time a close friend.

“They hung with each other every single day,” she said.

Said another resident, Latrice Harper, “They were homeboys. Didn’t nobody know they had any beef. That’s what’s so shocking to everybody.”

Gainesville Police Lt. Carol Martin said police were still investigating the motive behind the shooting. Slaughter was questioned by police after being brought to Hall County from Franklin County, where authorities believe he went to hide out at a relative’s home.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Maj. Ken Evanson said deputies found Slaughter around 11 a.m. Tuesday at a home in Martin, where he was hiding under a bed.

Both Slaughter and Hall lived at the Atlanta Street Apartments, a government housing complex off of E.E Butler Parkway.

It was the first shooting at the complex in recent years that residents could recall.

“Atlanta Street has calmed down a lot,” Jackson said.

Another, unrelated shooting occurred Monday night in Hall County when two Gainesville men were shot on Old Athens Highway near Floyd Road, authorities said. Their wounds were not considered life-threatening.

Lewis E. Randolph, 22, and Michael T. Tate, 32, were shot about 10:30 p.m. Monday after words were exchanged between the two men, who were walking, and unidentified men in a car, Hall Sheriff’s Maj. Jeff Strickland said.

Randolph was shot in the midsection and Tate was wounded in the arm. Both men were in stable condition Tuesday at Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

No arrests have been made in the non-fatal shooting.