‘Put the guns down’: Atlanta dad mourning teenage son killed in Austell apartment shooting

EAST POINT, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Monday, hundreds of people crowded into an East Point shopping center for a candlelight vigil to mourn the death of 17-year-old Kenneth Collier Jr.

Cobb County police have launched a homicide investigation after receiving an initial 911 call on Jan. 9 for gunshots at the Residence at Riverside Apartments in Austell.

In a news release, police officials said they found the teenager with multiple gunshot wounds.

Collier’s family said the body was that of the 17-year-old who was an 11th grader at Eagle’s Landing High School in McDonough.

“Kenneth didn’t deserve to be killed that way. Nobody deserves to be killed that way,” said Kenn Collier, Kenneth’s dad.

Kenn said Kenneth went to see a friend at the Austell complex. He does not know what the circumstances were leading up to the shooting.

“Nobody ever imagines getting a call that your son has been murdered. Your son has been shot, is hurt,” Kenn said. “As a parent, the hardest thing ever to go through. Kenneth was a good kid.”

Kenneth’s death comes roughly seven years after the death of Kenneth’s mother, Tamika Trimble, who also died of gun violence.

17-year-old shot to death at Austell apartment complex, police say

In December 2017, Trimble was shot and killed in her car, with her daughter in the backseat.

“I sat on this same couch and did this interview. Talked about my son’s mom, about his mom being murdered through gun violence. Now, (I) sit here again, without my son, talking about gun violence,” Kenn said.

After that deadly shooting, Kenn said Kenneth acted out and began bullying before channeling his anger.

By 11, Kenneth had written a book advocating against bullying.

He was awarded a proclamation from the City of Atlanta after publishing the book titled “Button Buddy Stops Bullying: And So Can You.”

Kenn said his son got off track and eventually was pulled back into a rough crowd.

“Unfortunately, when you’re still in a situation around your friends and environment, and that’s all you see a lot of times, you can fall back into it,” he said. “As a parent, of course I did everything I can, we did everything we can do.”

Kenn said they recently moved Kenneth away from southwest Atlanta to McDonough where he enrolled at Eagle’s Landing High School. He said his son’s death shows the complexity of the gun violence epidemic.

“We really need to put the guns down,” Collier said.

Cobb County police is asking anyone with information surrounding the shooting incident to call police at (770) 499-3945.

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