SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. — An 11-year-old girl was shot and killed by a stray bullet that flew through her bedroom window early Tuesday morning in Spalding County.
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Sheriff Darrell Dix said that a shooting broke out at the Spalding Heights apartment complex around 1 a.m. One of the bullets that was meant for someone else flew through the child’s window, killing her instantly.
The child, who has not been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Tuesday afternoon, deputies released a photo of the suspect, who they identified as 21-year-old Kionta Jahuan Parks.
He’s facing charges of felony murder, aggravated assault, cruelty to children, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, violation of the Georgia Street Gang Act and violation of the Georgia Domestic Terrorism Statute.
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The sheriff’s office said Parks should be considered armed and dangerous and anyone who sees him should call 911.
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Police said the investigation is ongoing and more details will be released later. The sheriff’s office is assisting the family with alternate housing arrangements and help with their expenses.
Channel 2′s Bryan Mims was at the apartment complex Tuesday, where he talked to a neighbor who heard the gunshots.
Marshelle Atkinson said she recently lost a nephew to gun violence, so the tragedy hits hard.
“Put the guns away,” Atkinson said. “To hear that an 11-year-old was killed in my complex, it hits close to home.”
This is the second Georgia child to be killed while asleep in their bedroom in just eight days. Ten-year-old Damarion Byrd was killed after a gunman shot up his home in Baldwin County on March 7. Several people have been arrested in that shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office at 770-467-4282.
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