The Friday shooting death of an Atlanta man and gun violence were discussed Monday as the city council prepared to vote on the budget.

District 11 Councilwoman Keisha Lance Bottoms’ appeal for municipal court reform, was met with condolences from another member on a recent loss in Bottoms’ family.

The young man, Darius Bottoms, is Keisha Lance Bottoms’ nephew by marriage. She attended Monday’s meeting because of the importance of the budget vote.

In the pre-dawn hours of Friday morning, Darius, 18, was found shot to death in a car.

During the council discussion, District 9 Councilwoman Felicia Moore revealed her nephew was also shot a few weeks ago as an innocent bystander.

“The violence going on for these young people is very scary,” Moore said. “Obviously these kids that have these guns have absolutely no idea what they’re doing with them.”

According to Atlanta police, Darius was found in the driver’s seat of a white Hyundai Elantra about 4:30 a.m. Friday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not released a motive for the shooting. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

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