A contentious child custody situation boiled over in Fayetteville on Wednesday when a 13-year-old girl opened fire on a man attempting to pick up his child with the help of deputies, state officials said.
The 38-year-old Marietta man was struck by the initial gunfire, while the girl was shot when a deputy fired back at her, the GBI said in a news release Thursday. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital and is stable. The teen was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston with non-life-threatening injuries.
The GBI did not share any details about the nature of the relationship between the girl and the man, whose 3-year-old was involved in the custody exchange.
According to the GBI’s initial investigation, the man called the Fayette watch desk to ask for law enforcement assistance with a dispute at a home on Carnoustie Way. A sheriff’s deputy met the man at the entrance to the Whitewater Creek neighborhood, a gated community in Fayetteville.
The man parked in the driveway of the home and walked to the front porch while the deputy parked on the street, the GBI said. As the deputy was walking to the front of the house, the 13-year-old girl stepped out and began to fire, shooting the man several times, the GBI said. The deputy then fired multiple shots, striking the girl.
This is the 54th officer-involved shooting the GBI has investigated this year and the second involving a minor.
On Feb. 7, a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds in Columbus drew gunfire from police when they drove a stolen car toward two officers, the GBI said. The three teens later showed up at a hospital, with two of them suffering from gunshot wounds. The GBI did not specify which two teens were injured.
At least 10 teenagers have been involved in police shooting cases in Georgia this year, but none were fatal.
The GBI is investigating the latest case and agents are asking for help from the public. Anyone with information is asked to contact the GBI’s Region 2 field office in Columbus at 706-565-7888. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1(800) 597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don’t involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
