Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder following a deadly shooting that killed two youths in Midtown, Atlanta police said Wednesday.
The names of the suspects, ages 15 and 16, were not released. Both have been charged with two counts of murder, aggravated assault and gang charges, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said.
“We do have two shooters in custody for murder,” Hampton said.
Hampton said the two suspects were both students in the Atlanta public school system. The 16-year-old was captured in New York City with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Additional arrests are possible, Hampton said.
“This investigation is not over,” Hampton said. “We do anticipate additional charges.”
Credit: Family photos
Credit: Family photos
Investigators did not release details on a possible motive for the shootings. But Hampton said some of those involved knew each other.
On Nov. 26, shots were fired on the 17th Street bridge, not far from the Atlantic Station retail and residential area. Zyion Charles, 12, died at the scene, according to police. Days later Cameron Jackson, 15, died from his injuries.
Cameron, who was riding a scooter when he was shot, was the intended target, according to investigators. Zyion, a seventh-grader, was also hit. The four others injured, all under the age of 18, were treated for injuries and released from the hospital, police said.
Zyion’s mother told the Atlanta City Council public safety committee on Nov. 28 she had repeatedly tried to have her son taken into police custody for breaking into cars. The boy suffered from mental illness, she said.
“I cried out for help,” Deerica Charles, the boy’s mother, told the committee. “I cried out for it. I promise y’all, I cried out for it.”
Meanwhile, Cameron was dedicated to boxing, a sport he began as a young child, his family and coach said after his death. He dreamed of competing in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, his coach said.
“I don’t know where we go from here,” said his mother, Tiffany Smith. “But Cameron was my whole world. Now I have to figure out what’s next. That was my baby boy.”
Investigators have said a group of children and teens was escorted off the Atlantic Station property for unruly behavior and for violating the 3 p.m. curfew. From there, the group walked to the nearby bridge, where shots were fired, according to investigators.
Video surveillance cameras captured the shooting and led investigators to believe as many as three people fired shots. After the shooting, a group of teens then boarded a MARTA train at the Arts Center station. Train cameras showed the teens celebrating and showing guns to other passengers as they rode through the city, police previously said.
Homicide investigators last week asked for help from the public to identify those seen in surveillance videos. A $10,000 reward was offered in the case, but it was not known Wednesday whether anyone was eligible for the reward.
Friday evening, faith leaders and community members gathered on the 17th Street bridge to pray and urge a call for the end of gun violence in the city. Holding signs and lighting candles, those in attendance also remembered the victims who lost their lives in the shooting.
The funeral for Zyion will be held Saturday at noon at First Iconium Baptist Church, 542 Moreland Ave SW in Atlanta, his obituary states.
Editor’s note: Cameron Jackson’s first name was incorrectly spelled in previous stories based on information provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The spelling has been corrected.
