A 14-year-old boy was shot during an argument at Rodney Cook Senior Park early Monday, officials said, continuing an alarming trend of gunfire in metro Atlanta this month that saw at least six other teenagers struck, including four who died.
Atlanta police were called just after 1 a.m. to the park on Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, where the teen was found suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover, police said. His name was not released.
According to investigators, the boy was in a group with some friends and strangers when an argument broke out that turned violent. It happened three months after police said a suspect fled the 16-acre park in Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood after shooting a 22-year-old man in the left arm and abdomen.
No arrests have been made in either case.
“The case is still open and active. There are no updates at this time,” a police spokesperson said Monday about the earlier incident at the park.
Investigators said they are working to piece together more details about Monday’s shooting, which happened five days after the 16-year-old nephew of Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed in northwest Atlanta, about four miles away. In that incident, Atlanta police responded around 4:30 a.m. July 17 to the 1000 block of Cato Street, where officers found Jakari Rayshard Brooks shot. The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.
A motive is unclear, and police have not shared additional details about that shooting, which occurred one day after an 18-year-old boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being struck by gunfire in the area of Vine and Magnolia streets.
Jakari Brooks was the second 16-year-old boy fatally shot within a week in northwest Atlanta, according to police. On July 10, Maurice Weems was found suffering from several gunshot wounds at the Reserve at Hollywood apartments on Hollywood Road in the Scotts Crossing neighborhood. Investigators have released video of three suspects accused of shooting Weems, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition but died from his injuries, police said.
Three days earlier, officers found a 19-year-old who had been shot several times in the 2000 block of Sylvan Road in southwest Atlanta. The teen was taken to the hospital, where he is said to be stable.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
On July 2, two 13-year-old boys were shot to death while hanging out on the steps of a building at the West End Apartments, a troubled complex in the Oakland City neighborhood. The first bullet struck Jakody Davis, who was sitting on the steps, and one of his best friends Lamon Freeman was hit as he walked out of the apartment, Freeman’s cousin, Tiwana McCoy, told reporters at the scene.
Davis died at the hospital, while Freeman died at the scene, just 30 minutes into what would have been his 13th birthday. Police said a 12-year-old boy was also shot and hospitalized.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
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