x
Breaking News
More () »

9-year-old shot to death becomes fifth child killed in Atlanta by gunfire this year

Thursday afternoon the 9-year-old's family identified the boy as Kemoni Mack. Atlanta Police said a 16-year-old inside the same home shot the child.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Police responded to an apartment shooting on Richmond Circle in Atlanta's Lakewood Heights neighborhood late Wednesday night.

Inside they found a 9-year-old boy who had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting.

On Thursday, the boy's family was too emotional to talk but identified the boy as Kemoni Mack and shared a photo of him standing with his smiling younger sister.

At the scene, police said the shooting took place inside the home and investigators had recovered ballistic evidence.

Atlanta Police homicide commander Lt. Ralph Woolfolk gave an update on the case Thursday afternoon.

"We have further learned in the investigation after conducting several interviews that a 16-year-old that was present at the location is responsible for that incident," he said. 

Woolfolk added that at the time of the shooting a total of five people, including Kemoni and the teen, were inside the home. 

Kemoni's death is at least the fifth this year within the City of Atlanta where a child has been killed by gunfire. 

On January 15, a 1-year-old was shot and killed by another child in a home on Harwell Road in the Collier Heights neighborhood in Northwest Atlanta. The child's mother was later arrested for second-degree murder.

Later that day, a 15-year-old was shot and killed in the Mechanicsville neighborhood with APD at the time stating the shooting was connected to a "gun transaction gone wrong involving acquaintances."

During the afternoon of January 24, a 6-month-old named Grayson was shot and killed when he was caught in the middle of gunfire. Two people have been arrested in connection with Grayson's death. 

Two days later a 17-year-old was shot and killed during what police believe was a targeted drug-related robbery. In this incident, two other people were also shot. 

Regarding the killing of Kemoni Mack, no arrests have been made at this time.

Atlanta Police are still going through both physical evidence and statements they received from talking with witnesses. 

"Trying to corroborate some of those statements to determine fact from fiction. We are looking at that now and ascertaining whether there are any charges that need to be filed at this time," Woolfolk said.

Police haven't released any information on whether they have determined if the shooting was accidental or not. 

Before You Leave, Check This Out