Amber Alert canceled after 2-year-old girl found safe; mother charged in shooting

A 2-year-old girl who was reported missing in Spalding County on Wednesday evening has been found safe, and her mother was jailed in connection with a shooting that prompted the statewide search.

Griffin police responded to a home in the 400 block of Circus Street about 9:30 p.m. after receiving calls about a person shot. When officers arrived, they discovered blood and a shell casing, but no victim, police said in a news release.

While at the scene, officers were told the victim had arrived at the hospital with a gunshot wound to the face. That person, who has not been identified, had to be flown by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center due to the severity of their injuries, investigators said.

After speaking with witnesses, detectives identified the shooter as 21-year-old Johnetta Taylor of Forsyth. Taylor’s daughter, 2-year-old Amina Cole, was with her at the time and was taken when her mother fled the scene, authorities said.

Credit: WSB-TV

Credit: WSB-TV

Given the circumstances surrounding the shooting and the possibility that the toddler could have been in danger, authorities issued an Amber Alert.

That search was canceled about 1 p.m. Thursday when Monroe County deputies received a call from one of Taylor’s relatives saying she and her daughter had just arrived at their home.

Deputies responded to the house on Champion Drive and Taylor was arrested without incident, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Anna Lewis said.

When police arrived, Cole and another of Taylor’s children were found unharmed.

Taylor was taken to the Monroe County Jail and held for Griffin police, authorities said. She faces one count of aggravated assault and one count of attempted murder in connection with the shooting. The person she allegedly shot remains hospitalized but is expected to survive, police said.

We’re working to learn more.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

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