Two young boys are dead and two women are recovering from gunshot wounds after a shooting ripped through a Stone Mountain apartment complex, according to DeKalb County police. Officers responded to a report of multiple people shot at 1075 North Hairston Road, where they found an 11-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound who later died at the scene. A 12-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and also died of his injuries.
The shooting happened at the Nissan Golden Gate apartment community, as reported by Atlanta News First, which first detailed the scope of Sunday's violence. The complex sits at that same North Hairston Road address.
Alongside the two boys, two women were also shot and taken to local hospitals. A 39-year-old woman was listed in stable condition, and a 19-year-old woman was also reported to be in stable condition, per the same account. Police have not released the identities of the children who died, and as of the latest update, no suspects had been named and no arrests had been announced.
Investigators Point to an Earlier Dispute
DeKalb County police said a preliminary investigation indicates the shooting may be connected to a fight or disagreement earlier in the day, though detectives are still working to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident. Police called the shooting an unimaginable loss for the families and the community, the station's report notes.
The apartment community is not new to gun violence. Just over a month earlier, on August 13, FOX 5 Atlanta reported that a 20-year-old man was found shot to death in a parking lot at Lakeview Apartment Homes, also called Mountain Lake, at 1401 North Hairston Road in unincorporated Stone Mountain, one of three separate shootings across DeKalb County that same night. That fatal shooting was followed hours later by a fire that destroyed the complex's clubhouse, as Hoodline previously reported.
Violence along the same corridor stretches back further. 11Alive reported that a man was hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times in the 1000 block of North Hairston Road.
Countywide Public Safety Trends
The tragedy comes even as DeKalb County has touted improving public safety trends overall. Earlier this year, 11Alive reported that the DeKalb County Police Department highlighted midyear decreases in homicides, violent crime, and property crime across the county ahead of a public town hall.
Repeated bloodshed along North Hairston Road has struck the same stretch of Stone Mountain within the past year. It echoes a pattern Hoodline has documented before in Stone Mountain, including a double fatal shooting at a residential property last December.
County Programs Aim at Root Causes
Police's belief that the shooting stemmed from an earlier dispute points to a challenge DeKalb officials have tried to address through prevention programs.
Capital B Atlanta reported that DeKalb also operates Juvenile Accountability Courts for youth ages 13 to 17 as an alternative to incarceration. Stone Mountain has seen youth caught in gun violence before; Hoodline reported in May on a student shot while waiting at a bus stop near Stone Mountain High School.
What Charges Could Look Like
No suspects or arrests have been announced in Sunday's shooting.
DeKalb County police detectives said they are continuing to work to determine the full circumstances surrounding the shooting. No further updates on victim identities, suspects, or a motive had been released as of the most recent report.
