4-year-old: ‘My whole family is dead’

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By KATIE LESLIE

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Minutes after a woman escaped a shooting rampage and called 911, neighbor Samantha Manchester watched from the street as Gwinnett County police surrounded the two-story home on Clairidge Lane.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Four people are dead and a child injured after a shooting in Lawrenceville.

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Gwinnett police Richard Ringold

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An officer pounded on the door, she said, but no one was prepared for who answered: a 4-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to her chest.

Manchester said an officer grabbed the child and whisked her away from the site where police say Richard Ringold, 44, shot five people, killing four, including the girl’s mother and sister.

Manchester and another neighbor tried to comfort the girl as paramedics cut off her bloodied clothing and began treatment, she said.

“The little girl was so strong. She was not crying,” Manchester said. “When they were tearing off her clothes, she looked around at all of us and all she could say was ‘My whole family is dead.’”

Gwinnett Police have identified the victims who died in the home as Atania Butler, 28; her 11-year-old daughter; and 19-year-old Rico Zimmerman. Lakeisha Parker, 30, died at Gwinnett Medical Center, according to police.

Authorities are withholding the names of the 11-year-old girl and the 4-year-old sister.

The little girl was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite for surgery, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Cpl. Illana Spellman said.

Ringold, who police say was arrested after he returned to the crime scene, faces charges including four counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. He is being held without bond.

Manchester said she is consumed with thoughts of the injured girl, who may have helped police quickly identify the shooter.

“I feel so sad for her,” Manchester said. “This little girl will be traumatized the rest of her life.”