Twelve-year-old Zyion Charles was pronounced dead and five others were injured following a shooting in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday.
“You could never imagine a 12-year-old losing his life,” Charles’ grandmother, Sandra Durden, told WSB-TV.
Atlanta Police Homicide Commander Lieutenant Germaine Dearlove says that a “group of juveniles” was escorted away from Atlantic Station for “unruly behavior” and “curfew violations.” After leaving Atlantic Station, the group moved to 17th station and an altercation occurred. Shortly thereafter, multiple shots were fired, leaving one person dead and five others injured. Thus far, police have not identified what sparked the dispute.
“Currently, we’re in the preliminary stage,” Dearlove said during a press conference on November 26,
“We’re on a fact-finding mission to see what exactly occurred.”
As police search for answers, gun violence remains a topic of discussion in the city and around the nation. According to National Gun Violence Archive, at least six mass shootings have occurred during the holiday weekend. Overall, there have been 615 mass shootings in 2022 thus far.
“I’m asking parents right now that you use your phones … to know where your youth are at all times … and to make sure that when they’re visiting friends, that their friends’ parents also know where their kids are at all times,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said.
“This is a group project. The entire village has to chip in on this. To reduce the gun violence, to reduce the issues that are plaguing our communities, it’s going to take everyone.”
