For hours, Cedric Clark’s family searched.
Tuesday turned to Wednesday.
There was no sign of the teenager until just before 8 a.m., when a homeowner in the 5800 block of Eagles Feather Lane found the boy’s body in her backyard as she was leaving for work, Clayton County police Deputy Chief Joseph Woodall said during an 11 a.m. press conference. She called police. Clark, a junior at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, had been shot about a mile from his home and weeks before his 18th birthday.
“He was stiff,” Anthony Lewis, Clark’s brother, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “His lips were blue. I seen a little blood on his jaw.”
Little was known about Clark’s final moments and no arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon. But police were pursuing multiple leads, and their investigation prompted district officials to place nearby Drew on a soft lockdown for the remainder of the day. During a soft lockdown, all exterior doors are locked, but parents can enter the school with proper identification.
While nothing happened at Drew, officials activated the lockdown out of an abundance of caution and alerted a crisis team to support staff and students.
“This is an unfortunate incident,” Clayton County Public Schools spokeswoman Jada Dawkins said. “Our heart goes out to the students, staff and family of the victim.”
What officials do know is Clark left with a friend about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. When that friend returned without Clark and no answers about his whereabouts, Clark’s family started the hours-long search — which took them to the area where his body was ultimately found. The family suspended that search about 5 a.m., then resumed another one a few hours later, Lewis said.
Investigators believe Clark was shot Tuesday night.
“We believe he was on foot in the area,” Woodall said.
Lewis had a hard time accepting that his brother, a member of the ROTC and the football, basketball and baseball teams, was gone. Clark, he said, had received an offer to play college baseball. His whole life was ahead of him.
“I just want my brother back,” Lewis said.
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