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Trial begins in shooting of 7-year-old Atlanta girl outside Phipps Plaza

Police said he got into an argument with someone in the mall parking lot and fired his gun out his car window, killing Maxie.

ATLANTA — Opening statements begin Friday in the trial of a man charged after a stray bullet killed a little girl outside Phipps Plaza during the 2020 holiday season.

On Thursday, a judge seated a jury for the murder trial of Daquan Reed.

Police said he got into an argument with someone in the mall parking lot and fired his gun out his car window.

One of those bullets hit 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie in the head as she was riding in her aunt's car.

She died the day after Christmas.

Reed was caught in Virginia in early Jan. 2021 and extradited to Georgia in February of that year, according to Fulton County Jail records.

The community rallied behind Kennedy by sharing prayers and raising money for her care while she was in the hospital.

Reed has a violent criminal history, according to authorities. 

Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office

According to court records in Virginia, he was arrested there previously for assault and battery, as well as a strangulation charge and other misdemeanor charges. He was also previously convicted on forgery charges.

11Alive's Norfolk sister station WVEC reports that he was arrested by US Marshals in Atlanta in October 2019 following a shooting at MacArthur Center Mall in Norfolk. Two people were hurt during the Norfolk shooting. Reed was facing an accessory after the fact charge.

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