A 15-year-old shot by Cobb County police outside Six Flags Over Georgia on Saturday evening was involved in another shooting in South Fulton last month, authorities confirmed Tuesday.
Syere Littlefield is facing several charges related to the violence Saturday after several suspects opened fire in the area and were chased into the woods outside the park, the GBI said. According to South Fulton police, the teenager was injured in a drive-by shooting on Lavender Lane on Feb. 17. The residential neighborhood is southeast of I-85 and near Jonesboro Road.
“I understand that Mr. Littlefield was listed as a victim in that incident,” South Fulton police spokesman Lt. Jubal Rogers said. “There was a drive-by shooting, and he was injured by gunfire as a result.”
Littlefield, of College Park, remains in Grady Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit recovering from his injuries after the chaos at Six Flags, which saw groups of young people fighting inside the park before the shooting, authorities said. In addition to a previously reported assault charge, Littlefield has been charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, possession of a firearm under 18, and interference with government property, police said Tuesday.
The teen was found with a handgun at the scene after being shot by Officer Stephen Abernathy, according to a police report obtained Tuesday.
It was the second straight year that fighting was reported at Six Flags on the opening day of the season. Cobb police said they used an abundance of caution Saturday due to earlier incidents of violence “among large crowds that come to the park and the surrounding areas.”
Credit: Benjamin Hendren
Credit: Benjamin Hendren
Reports also suggested there were social media posts before Saturday indicating that something would possibly happen that day, but police have not confirmed that.
“Six Flags requested additional officers to work on the park property for that day,” Cobb police said. “Additionally, the precinct commander for the area where Six Flags is situated arranged for extra officers to patrol the adjacent areas.”
In a statement on Sunday, Six Flags wrote that the park had strong support from Cobb police, who were present both inside and outside the grounds. Other safety measures already in place included “state of the art” security systems and metal detection, along with security personnel.
On Monday, Mableton Mayor Michael Owens called the incident at his city’s amusement park “disappointing” and said he plans to host several public safety meetings. He wants to collaborate with the Cobb Police Department and Cobb Sheriff’s Office while discussing current safety protocols and procedures and exploring innovative approaches to enhance security.
Officers had responded to the park’s entrance around 6:15 p.m. Saturday to assist with crowd control after several fights broke out among guests, according to the GBI. Police said they helped security with handling an “unruly crowd” of more than 500 people who were running and fighting throughout the grounds.
Officers and security personnel followed them out of the park and onto Six Flags Parkway near South Service Road, police said. The gunfire occurred around 7:30 p.m. outside Six Flags property, the park said.
No officers were injured during the incident. Littlefield is expected to remain in the ICU for a couple of weeks, police said.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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