9-year-old is only witness to Atlanta shooting

Georgia law enforcement is investigating a shooting in Atlanta where the only witness was a child, according to local media reports.

The shooting, which happened on Thursday night on Bent Creek Way in southern Atlanta, left one person with multiple gunshot wounds after two men were seen getting into an argument in an apartment unit. The Atlanta Police Department said the only witness to the crime was a 9-year-old child, reported WSBTV.

The APD was reported by WSBTV to have said that the argument escalated into a fight at around 11:1 p.m., which resulted in one man being shot multiple times, before the attacker ran away. The Atlanta Police Department is reported to still be looking for him.

The shooting victim was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in an ambulance, and is reportedly in a stable condition. Police told local media that he required surgery.

Newsweek contacted the APD for comment outside of normal working hours.

The shooting comes after a similar event at the Peachtree Center food court, where four people were shot before Atlanta police arrived on the scene.

Gun violence has continued to be a significant issue in Atlanta. In 2023, Atlanta’s violent crime rate was 1,092 per 100,000 residents, which was significantly higher than the national average of 398 per 100,000 residents.

Gun restriction legislation is weaker in Georgia than most other states, with gun safety campaigners Everytown ranking it 46th in the U.S. for gun law strength. The state has a “Shoot First” law, which permits the killing of another person in a public area if they pose a serious threat, even if the opportunity to walk away safely is available.

In Georgia, an average of 1,927 people die each year because of guns, making it the state with the 15th highest rate of gun deaths in the U.S. 45 percent of these deaths are homicides, while 52 percent are suicides. Between 2013 and 2022, the rate of gun deaths in the state increased by 56 percent.

Much of this violence is felt by the state’s child population, with guns being the leading cause of death among children and teens across Georgia. An average of 205 children die due to guns every year, with 28 percent of that number being suicide, and 66 percent being homicides. This is roughly equivalent to the same breakdown for children across the U.S., where 63 percent of child deaths by gun are a result of violence.

Gun violence costs the state $23.9 billion a year, or the equivalent of just over $2,200 dollars per person. Over half a billion if this is paid directly by taxpayers.

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