A man wanted on a murder charge in the shooting of a 7-year-old girl at a northeast Atlanta apartment complex was arrested Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, police said.
Deshon Collins, 23, was taken into custody without incident as he tried to fly out of the state, Atlanta police said in a news release. He was wanted on charges of murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Collins is accused of shooting 7-year-old Ava Phillips in the head at the Camden Vantage Apartments on Jackson Street on Aug. 27, police said. Investigators learned Phillips was shot after a domestic dispute between her mother and Collins led to gunfire. Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene.
Phillips’ mother, 44-year-old Kameka Springfield, was previously arrested and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. She was released Sept. 8 on $30,000 bond, online jail records show.
Phillips was laid to rest Sept. 6 while her mother remained in jail.
Just three days after the shooting, Collins was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in a separate case from 2020, according to court records. That indictment included two counts each of criminal damage to property, reckless conduct and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
