A 6-month-old boy became the second infant to die from gun violence in Atlanta this month after he was fatally shot Monday while traveling in a car with his mother.
The infant, identified by the family as Grayson Matthew, was in the back seat of a vehicle when a bullet penetrated the trunk in broad daylight and hit him, Channel 2 News Action report. This vehicle is said to have been stuck between two other cars engaged in a gunfight on the street.
The baby was taken to a local hospital but did not survive his injuries. Atlanta police chief Rodney Bryant told reporters his officers spent the afternoon trying to comfort the mother who was shocked by the infant’s bullet casings.
“This is painful. This is painful for a 6-month-old kid walking down the street and being a victim of gun violence — random gun violence — between two people who can’t solve a simple problem,” said Bryant. said at a press conference.
No suspects were in custody as of Tuesday morning. The Atlanta Police Department said it had officers working through the night to find the gunmen.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens noted during Monday’s news conference that the baby was the third child to be shot in the city during the first month of the year.
“Children are bearing the brunt and losing their lives because adults cannot resolve their disputes without using guns,” he said, vowing to “put an end to it.”
The shooting took place just before 3pm near a school where several parents are said to have gathered to pick up their children.
“Our window is open. We initially heard what we thought were firecrackers, but it turned out to be gunshots,” a young girl who attended the nearby KIPP Academy told Channel 2.
A woman who lives about 15 feet away from the crime scene said: 11 Alive she heard a ‘series of gunfire’ coming from two cars on the street.
A neighbor told 11 Alive she heard “a series of gunshots” about 15 feet from her home.
“Immediately my heart started to break,” she said when she learned that a baby had been killed. “You know, here we are again, another life lost, another meaningless death.”
