In 2021, several children and teenagers were killed or injured in gun violence in metro Atlanta and several others were injured. That violence has continued in 2022.
As of Dec. 31, there had been at least 85 children under the age of 18 shot. Of them, at least 42 died.
Here is a look at some of metro Atlanta’s youngest shooting victims this year:
Dec. 28: A 12-year-old girl was shot in DeKalb County during an argument between her mother and a man, according to police. Ferando Marquis Davis Jr., 27, faces charges in connection with the incident.
Dec. 23: A 4-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the foot at a DeKalb County home after finding an unsecured gun, according to police.
Dec. 21: A 2-year-old girl’s mother rushed her to a fire station for help after the child accidentally shot herself, according to police. The child was described as alert and taken to a hospital.
Dec. 17: Malik Grover, 14, and Justin Powell, 16, were shot to death at an apartment complex when a social media dispute spilled into real life, according to police. Three others, including a 15-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, also were injured.
Credit: Contributed Family Photo
Credit: Contributed Family Photo
Dec. 9: Jordin Robinson, 17, was found inside a vacant home not far from his own in Clayton County. He’d been shot and was taken to a hospital, where he died, according to police
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Dec. 3: Laila Harris, 15, was shot dead at a party in Clayton County involving hundreds of metro Atlanta high schoolers, police said. A person had allegedly been removed from the party and returned with an accomplice, firing shots into the building where the party was held.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Nov. 26: Zyion Charles, 12, and Cameron Jackson, 15, were fatally shot in a shooting on the 17th Street bridge near Atlantic Station, police said. Kameron was the target of the shooting, police said. Four others under 18 also were injured. The group of young people had run into another group when bullets flew in response to a “conflict” from earlier in the month.
Credit: Family photos
Credit: Family photos
Nov. 24: Jeremiah Eubanks, 17, was shot dead by a suspect in a passing car while walking near a Shell gas station on South Stone Mountain Lithonia Road just after 7 p.m., police said. A 19-year-old also was injured.
Nov. 16: Ryan Rodriguez Romero, 16 of Peachtree Corners, was fatally shot and a 17-year-old girl was injured in the parking lot of the La Mexicana Supermarket at 745 Beaver Ruin Road, just outside Lilburn, around 7:30 p.m., police said. The boy had tried to drive himself away from the scene, but his vehicle was found a short distance away. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The girl was described as stable and taken to a hospital.
Nov. 11: A child, whose age was not disclosed, was injured in a shooting at the Appletree Learning Center and Academy along East Ponce de Leon Avenue at about 5:30 p.m. The child was taken to a hospital. Police did not describe the extent of the injury.
Nov. 10: Jaynee Chavez, 17, was killed and a 23-year-old man was seriously injured when a person opened fire on their car along Glenwood Road around 11 p.m., police said. Jaynee was a junior at Towers High School.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Nov. 9: An 11-year-old boy was injured in a drive-by shooting in Redan, police said. Witnesses told investigators that shots were fired from two vehicles passing a home.
Nov. 6: A 17-year-old boy was found shot to death in a DeKalb County neighborhood, police said. The boy was found with multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. A 23-year-old man, Tavares Spencer, was arrested.
Nov. 1: A 16-year-old boy was shot multiple times while inside a parking deck at a mixed-use development in southeast Atlanta.
Oct. 31: A 5-year-old girl was shot in her wrist after two men got into an argument and exchanged gunfire, according to investigators. She was said to be stable. The two men, Travis Lester and Terry Burnett, face multiple charges.
Oct. 27: A child, whose age was not disclosed, sustained a gunshot wound to the hand, investigators said. The father, identified as Quinton Gay, was arrested on charges of second-degree cruelty to children and reckless conduct, police said.
Oct. 26: Norcross High School student DeAndre Henderson, 17, was fatally shot after leaving the high school, police said. One suspect, 18-year-old Brendon Young, has been arrested.
Oct. 10: A 13-year-old boy was injured in a drive-by shooting while inside his home, according to police. He was taken to a hospital with a graze wound. No suspects have been arrested.
Oct. 9: A 2-year-old boy was fatally shot while sharing a bed with his father, who kept a gun under his pillow every night, police said. His father, 23-year-old Tyquontae Brunson, faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.
Oct. 2: Timothy Buchanan, 17, was shot to death while playing a pickup game with a group of other teens at the basketball court in the Bramlett Shoals subdivision of Gwinnett County, according to police. No other details were released.
Sept. 27: A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed at the The Villages at Carver, according to police. No other details were released.
Sept. 24: Adam David Lewis, 17, was found shot to death in the loft of a detached garage of a Paulding County home, according to police. Carson Nathanial Kennedy, also 17, is charged with murder.
Sept. 20: A 16-year-old boy was among four people injured when gunfire erupted in a DeKalb County neighborhood when two women tried to fight each other, according to police. A man, 26-year-old Mariceo Godwin, was charged in the case.
Sept. 20: Jamiren Crosby, 13, was found shot to death in a wooded area near Lithonia Park. He had left his home the weekend before and did not return. A passerby spotted his body while walking home through the park, lying in thick brush behind a row of townhomes on Parkview Trail.
Sept. 9: Zaccardi Dukes Jr., 17, was found shot to death at a southwest Atlanta home, according to police. No other infotmation was released about the case.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Sept. 3: A 14-year-old boy was found unconscious outside an apartment building in Clarkston, police said. He had been shot in the head and died from his injuries at a hospital. Furahisha Apulu, 17, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Aug. 27: Ava Phillips, 7, was fatally shot during a family gathering in a northwest Atlanta neighborhood, according to police. Investigators said an argument broke out and escalated to gunfire.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Aug. 22: Dimitri Hayes, 17, was shot and killed at a DeKalb County home, according to police. His brother, 17-year-old Xavier Hayes, was charged with murder. No details were provided about the motivation for the shooting.
Aug. 7: A 4-year-old girl, who was not identified, was fatally shot in what DeKalb police said was an accidental shooting. The girl allegedly found a gun while riding in a car with her mother, grabbed it, and the gun went off.
Aug. 7: A 6-year-old boy, who was not identified, was among six people shot at the Rosa L. Burney park when an argument apparently broke out during a baseball or softball game, according to police.
Aug. 3: A 3-year-old boy was critically injured in a shooting as he and his father left a barbershop in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood. Police believe the boy and his father were followed by the suspect, and as they drove away, the father noticed a blue Kia Optima performing a U-turn on the street after passing them. The Kia then pulled alongside their car on the passenger side and someone inside opened fire at an intersection.
July 31: A 16-year-old boy, who was not identified, was shot at the Arbor Place mall in Douglas County. Police did not disclose the circumstances of the shooting, but they confirmed that marijuana was found at the scene.
July 26: Romello Heard, 15, was found shot to death at The Woods at Peppertree apartments in DeKalb County. Police said the shooting stemmed from a robbery, and three suspects have been arrested.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
July 24: Eight people, including at least one 16-year-old, were shot by an unknown suspect outside a gas station in northwest Atlanta, according to police.
July 23: A 10-year-old girl was shot and critically injured, police said. A woman who was in her 40s was found dead, but she had not been shot.
July 21: John Pendrack, 17, was found dead in a lakefront neighborhood south of Snellville, police said. A 19-year-old, Aiden Reynolds, also was found dead.
July 19: Abel Castellanos, 16, was shot and killed in an apartment complex parking lot, police said. At the scene, officers found a pack of small cigars near his feet and a Glock semiautomatic handgun along with a small pistol near his body.
Credit: Provided/On the Way Church
Credit: Provided/On the Way Church
July 18: A 13-year-old boy was among five people injured in a shooting at the Forest Cove Apartments, police said. It is a condemned apartment complex in the Thomasville Heights neighborhood.
July 12: A 17-year-old boy, who was not identified, was found dead near Jessie Davis Park on Malone Street in Douglasville, police said. Two suspects, Joshua Blakely and his mother Lakeisha Blakely, were taken into custody later the same day.
July 5: A 16-year-old girl was shot while driving in southwest Atlanta, police said. The girl was stable, and she and her 19-year-old passenger told police it was the 19-year-old’s ex-boyfriend who shot at them.
June 30: A 17-year-old boy was walking in the 300 block of Delevan Street when he was shot multiple times, according to police. He told officers a vehicle drove up and someone inside began shooting.
June 21: Terence Denson, 15, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in the 1900 block of Garden Wood Court, according to police. Investigators believe he was killed during an argument.
June 12: Dyshea Hall, 16, was killed and a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in a shooting at the Kroger shopping center on Flat Shoals Parkway in DeKalb County, police said. She was a member of the Ms. D’s Dancing Dolls, a competitive dance team with a studio in Stone Mountain. The troupe was featured on the “Bring It!” Lifetime television series that aired between 2015 and 2018.
June 12: Jaquari Bennett, 1, was shot and killed, allegedly by her father after he fatally shot her mother, seriously injured her grandmother and kidnapped the child. He then took his own life.
Credit: GBI
Credit: GBI
June 7: A 10-year-old was shot at a house in the 3000 block of Largo Lane, police said. No other details, including the child’s condition, were released.
May 29: Two brothers, 17-year-old Brian Veronica and 19-year-old Luis Veronica, were shot to death in a vehicle at a Dunwoody apartment complex, according to police. Alexis Hernandez, 17, was arrested and charged with murder.
May 22: A 16-year-old boy was injured in a shooting in the 6800 block of Kimberly Mill Road, police said. He was expected to survive.
May 21: Grayson Green, 17, was shot and killed while at a large party at the Walton Village apartments in Marietta, according to police.
Credit: Marietta Police Department
Credit: Marietta Police Department
May 18: Two teenagers — 16 and 17 years old — were shot, allegedly by a 17-year-old Taco Bell employee, outside the restaurant after a dispute escalated to gunfire, according to police. The victims’ injuries were serious.
April 16: A 2-year-old boy was accidentally shot while his father was handling a gun in a bedroom, police said. The father, Arnijae Stroud, 21, is facing charges of child cruelty and reckless conduct.
April 9: An 11-year-old boy was seriously injured in a shooting as he left the Golden Glide skating rink in DeKalb County, according to police. A 13-year-old boy was later arrested.
April 8: A 15-year-old, who was not identified, accidentally shot himself while handling a firearm in a Chick-fil-A parking lot on Turner Hill Road in DeKalb County, police said.
April 8: A 6-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed by his 8-year-old brother at a Stone Mountain home April 8, police said. The boy’s father, 29-year-old D’Onte Patterson, was charged with second-degree murder and cruelty to children.
April 1: A 3-year-old Austell boy was seriously injured after he accidentally shot himself in the head, according to court documents. A woman, Amaya Sands, was charged with second-degree cruelty to children.
March 28: Janiyah Jenkins, 4, was shot at a home in the 1400 block of Bouldercrest Road in DeKalb County, according to police. She was taken to a hospital but died the following day. Levante Cummings, 27, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree child cruelty.
March 21: A 15-year-old boy, who was not identified, was shot at the Oakland City West End apartments in the 1100 block of Oakland Lane, police said. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition for surgery. Investigators said the teen was shot when two men in a white Kia pulled up next to him.
March 8: A 13-year-old boy, who was not identified, was shot while walking past the entrance to the Ashley West End apartments at 717 Lee Street in southwest Atlanta when he heard gunshots and was struck, police said.
March 5: Joshua Adetunji, 16, died after being shot near Pryor and Bass streets, not far from the Atlanta Fair on its opening weekend, police said. A 14-year-old also was injured in the shooting, as well as a 19-year-old man.
Feb. 27: Miyell Hernandez, 4, accidentally shot himself with a gun that was inside a vehicle after his mother went into a Publix on Panola Road in DeKalb County, police said.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Feb. 24: Kemoni Mack, 9, was fatally shot while at an apartment in The Station at Richmond Hill apartment complex in the 1700 block of Richmond Circle in southeast Atlanta, according to police. A minor, who was not identified, was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of felony.
Feb. 16: A 6-year-old boy, who was not identified, was shot in the hand in the 1000 block of Smith Street in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of southwest Atlanta. Police said the injury appeared to be self-inflicted. The child was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston Hospital.
Feb. 3: A 4-year-old boy, whose name was not released, was shot in a Griffin apartment, according to police. He died a week later. The boy’s mother, 24-year-old Jamacia Lyons of McDonough, and James Lee Evans, 20, of Griffin, were both charged with cruelty to children and reckless conduct.
Jan. 30: A 7-year-old, whose name was not released, was accidentally shot by a 9-year-old outside a Chipotle in Snellville. The 7-year-old was shot with a firearm that was left in a vehicle while an adult went inside the restaurant to pick up food. The injured child was alert when taken to a hospital, police said.
Jan. 26: Havord Head, 17, was fatally shot at The Commons apartments on Middleton Road, according to police. Investigators said they believed the shooting stemmed from a robbery involving narcotics.
Jan. 24: A 6-month-old, Grayson Matthew Fleming-Gray, was shot while riding in a vehicle near the Food Mart corner store on Anderson Avenue, according to police. Two people — Dequasie Johnathan Little and Sharice Ingram, both 22 — have been charged in the killing.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Jan. 19: A 5-year-old was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between two drivers in the 1800 block of Campbellton Road when a bullet grazed the child’s back, investigators said. The child, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital and survived. Deontea Anderson, 28, and Paul Hinds Jr., 24, were arrested in the case.
Jan. 15: Kelvice Roberson Jr., 15, was shot and killed at the Dunbar Neighborhood Center along Windsor Street, police said. A man also was shot in the incident and survived. In 2017, Roberson’s older brother, Markeith Oliver, was shot and killed while selling water bottles outside a southwest Atlanta gas station.
Jan. 12: A 1-year-old girl, whose name was not released, was shot in a Harwell Road home when another child found an unsecured gun and fired it, according to police. The 1-year-old was shot once and rushed to a hospital, where she died three days later. The girl’s mother, Amaiya Dachanel Williams, 21, was charged with murder in the second degree.
About the Author
