The teenager stabbed to death Sunday night in downtown Atlanta’s Woodruff Park has been identified as 17-year-old Cody Phillips.

According to police, the stabbing happened shortly before 10 p.m. at the park on Peachtree Street just north of Five Points.

“The initial on-scene investigation revealed that the victim and the suspect were in a verbal altercation that escalated to a physical confrontation and the suspect stabbed the victim,” Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said Monday.

Phillips, an Atlanta resident, died shortly after arriving at Grady Memorial Hospital, Jones said.

She said police arrested 26-year-old Trent Anderson a few blocks from the stabbing scene on unspecified charges.

While the stabbing happened near Georgia State University’s campus, Atlanta police Capt. Paul Guerrucci told Channel 2 Action News, “I do not believe that it’s going to be a Georgia State student. None of the involved parties do we believe are students.”

In late August, an Atlanta officer shot and wounded a suspect who had allegedly stabbed a Georgia State University police officer near Woodruff Park.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo