Investigators believe a 16-year-old pulled the trigger in a shooting that killed a 9-year-old boy, Atlanta police said Thursday. But it’s not known if the teenager will face criminal charges.
Officers were called to The Station at Richmond Hill apartment complex in the 1700 block of Richmond Circle in southeast Atlanta around 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Lt. Ralph Woolfolk, Atlanta police’s Homicide Unit commander. The boy died at the scene, Woolfolk said.
Later Thursday morning, the child was identified as Kemoni Mack of Atlanta, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
In a video interview from the scene shortly after 2 a.m., Woolfolk said no arrests had been made. Adults in the home at the time of the shooting were being interviewed, he said.
Late Thursday afternoon, Woolfolk said a teenager is suspected of shooting Mack. The teen’s relation to the boy was not released and it was not known if investigators believe the shooting was accidental.
“Guns inside residences get in the hands of children,” Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant said Thursday afternoon. “It’s tough. It’s tough to investigate any sudden death regarding homicide, but especially troubling for our men and women assigned to homicide to investigate a child.”
The boy killed Wednesday is the fifth child under the age of 18 shot to death in Atlanta this year, according to police.
On Jan. 15, a 1-year-old girl died after being shot by another child in her home, police previously said. The baby’s mother was later charged in the case. The same day, Kelvice Roberson Jr., 15, was shot and killed at the Dunbar Neighborhood Center along Windsor Street, police said.
Six-month-old Grayson Fleming-Gray died Jan. 24 after being shot while riding in a vehicle near a store on Anderson Avenue. Two people — Dequasie Johnathan Little and Sharice Ingram, both 22 — have been charged in the killing.
And on Jan. 26, Havord Head, 17, was fatally shot at The Commons apartments on Middleton Road. Investigators said they believe the shooting stemmed from a robbery involving narcotics.
On Thursday, Bryant pleaded with gun owners to be responsible and secure firearms properly.
“Take the necessary precautions and help us,” he said.
— Staff writer Rosana Hughes contributed to this article.
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