The 911 calls released Wednesday by police painted a frantic scene outside an Atlanta high school where a 16-year-old girl was fatally shot during Memorial Day weekend.
“Somebody got shot!” one person tells the operator, as others are heard crying and shouting in a grassy area outside Benjamin E. Mays High School.
“We can’t leave her, she’s a baby,” the female caller says. “There’s nobody else with her.”
“It was a shootout! It was a shootout!” someone yells in the background during the call.
Bre’Asia Powell had been shot early Sunday during a gathering outside the school, where she was a star athlete.
She was able to speak after the shooting and unlocked her cellphone so friends could summon help, a family friend later said. Those around her attempted to apply pressure to her wounds, but she had lost a lot of blood, the 911 callers said.
“She’s bleeding in the middle of her chest,” the caller stated.
Atlanta police responded at around 2:30 a.m. and found two teenagers shot at the end of a driveway outside the school, where an unauthorized gathering had taken place. The other shooting victim was taken to a hospital and was said to be stable. Bre’Asia died from her injuries.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, who attended Mays High, said during a Sunday news conference he’d spoken to the mothers of both of the teens. Bre’Asia was set to start working for the city of Atlanta this week in its summer youth employment program.
“We are always heartbroken when anyone loses their life in our city, but especially when it’s a young person the day after school lets out,” he said. “So we’re calling on parents, calling on young people and we’re calling on the community to continue to wrap their arms around our youth today.”
She was one of four teenagers shot across metro Atlanta over the holiday weekend.
No arrests have been made in the deadly shooting, but family and friends have made plans for her sendoff. A balloon release and funeral for Bre’Asia, who played basketball and volleyball and was an outstanding student, will be held this week.
The balloon release was Wednesday night at the C.T. Martin Recreation Center. A viewing is scheduled to be held Friday from 3-7 p.m. at Alfonso Dawson Mortuary Chapel. The funeral will be at noon Saturday at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church on Fairburn Road in Atlanta.
Crime Stoppers Atlanta has offered a $10,000 reward for information on the deadly shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to submit a tip to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line by calling 404-577-TIPS (8477), visiting www.crimestoppersatlanta.org or texting CSA and the tip to CRIMES (274637). Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
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