ATLANTA (Georgia, US), Sept 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Three people were shot dead in a targeted attack in Atlanta, the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, on Saturday afternoon, said local police.
Officers responded to a call reporting that someone had been shot in the city’s West End neighborhood around 1:30 p.m., police said.
The shooting occurred near a mall, police said in a news release, adding that a preliminary probe showed a man opened fire at two people, one of whom fired back. All three were shot and died.
The impact of the shooting was still being felt hours later by community members processing what they’d witnessed, and by loved ones of the victims who showed up at the scene only to have their worst fears confirmed.
“I fell out because this is not what you want to see,” said Kiwii Ashmead.
Ashmead identified her nephew, 20-year-old Jakobi Maddox, as one of the three people Atlanta Police detectives said were shot and killed Saturday. Maddox was the father of a one-year-old baby boy.
“We were supposed to be going on a family vacation next week. Now, we’re not going with my nephew. Instead, we have to bury my nephew,” Ashmead told reporters. “He was a gentle giant, very respectable, but unfortunately, you know, the streets got a hold of him.” — NNN-AGENCIES
