Who killed David Mack?

Metro Atlanta

Who killed David Mack?

PHOTOS: When Glenda Mack agreed to let her grandson, David, age 12, play football at a friend's house the afternoon of Feb. 9, 2021, she didn't know she'd never see him alive again. A year later, his case remains unsolved.

When Glenda Mack agreed to let her grandson, David, age 12, play football at a friend's house the afternoon of Feb. 9, 2021, she didn't know she'd never see him alive again. “Never did I think I would have to plan a service and bury him,” she said. “Never. Never.” (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

David, a Young Middle School student who wanted to be an engineer one day, called his grandmother to say he was going to play football at a friend’s house, just like he had so many times before. He was typically home before dark, but as the hours passed, Glenda Mack began to worry. -- Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Special to AJC

David's uncle, Wesley Allen, looks over the wooded site on Utoy Creek where his nephew was found dead in Feb. 2021. One year after the boy's slaying, the family is still sure someone can come forward to help them find out who shot and killed David, and why it happened. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

David's aunts Ayana Riley (from left), Radiah Allen, and grandmother Glenda Mack become emotional during a press conference by the family one year after the boy was shot to death near his SW Atlanta home. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

Glenda Mack holds a necklace decorated with David's portrait. The 12-year-old was found shot to death in February 2021, one day after his grandmother reported him missing. She wonders what went through David's mind before his death. “I wonder if he knew he was going to be shot or if he could have ran,” she says. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

David was found shot to death near this creek bed which runs behind the houses along Shirley Street SW in Atlanta’s Westview community. Residents near the crime scene said they heard several gunshots behind their homes the night David went missing but didn’t realize anyone had been struck. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

Oakland City Organization President Terra Washington (right) and Atlanta Police Department Officer Ruffin speak with a community member as they canvass the houses along Alvarado Terrace SW in Atlanta’s Westview community, Thursday, February 25, 2021. Members of APD gathered with David's family and community members to canvass the neighborhood looking for information about the 12-year-old’s murder. (Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com)

In the weeks leading up to the boy’s death, David mostly stayed at home. He took classes online and didn’t venture out much amid the pandemic. “But he asked if he could go to his friend’s house,” his grandmother told the AJC. “He said, ‘You know all we do is go to his backyard. We all wear masks and there’s never no more than three of us.’” Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Alyssa Pointer, AJC file

Atlanta Police Sergeant A. Lavigeour (left) and Westview Community Organization President Jason Hudgins canvass houses along Alvarado Terrace SW in Atlanta’s Westview community, Thursday, February 25, 2021. It’s unclear if he ever made it to his friend’s house, but Glenda Mack believes her grandson was on his way home when he was killed. “I have a lot of questions,” she says. Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Alyssa Pointer, AJC file

During APD's Feb. 2021 canvass, fliers with information about David were handed out to residents of the area near where the boy was found dead. The seventh grader had his “naughty moments” and occasionally talked back, but he was always quick to apologize when he did something wrong. “He might get angry, and then later on he’d come up and give me an old big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek,” said Glenda Mack, who raised David since he was just 5 days old. “He had his whole life ahead of him.” Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Alyssa Pointer, AJC file

Atlanta Police Sergeant A. Lavigeour (right) and Westview Community Organization President Jason Hudgins canvass houses along Alvarado Terrace SW Feb. 2021. Chata Spikes, the Atlanta Police Department’s public affairs director, said the deaths of children are often gut-wrenching for the officers who work those cases. “Anytime a child is involved in a crime, it’s devastating,” Spikes said. “This is not what we want to see in our city. In this case, you have a 12-year-old — that’s a very tender age. We are focused on finding out who did this to this young man.” Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Alyssa Pointer, AJC file

Glenda Mack talks about her grandson David at her daughter's South Fulton home in June 2021. To date, no arrests have been made in the case. She agreed to let David go to his friend's house, assuming he’d be safe. He told her he was leaving in 10 minutes. “I said, ‘OK.’ He said, ‘Love you’ and I said, ‘Love you, too,’” Mack said. It was the last thing she would ever say to him. Text: Shaddi Abusaid, AJC; Photo: Hyosub Shin, AJC

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When Glenda Mack agreed to let her grandson, David, age 12, play football at a friend's house the afternoon of Feb. 9, 2021, she didn't know she'd never see him alive again. “Never did I think I would have to plan a service and bury him,” she said. “Never. Never.” (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

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