A 6-month-old child was killed Monday afternoon in Atlanta after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout between two people, according to police.
Authorities received a call of a person shot on Anderson Avenue at 2:56 p.m., Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said Monday in a news conference.
The baby was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, according to police.
The child's name was not disclosed.
Bryant said the shooting was between “two people involved in gun violence,” and the “child was an innocent victim.”
He said the investigation is in its early stages and investigators are working leads.
“Right now our personnel are down consoling the mother of this child,” Bryant said. “This one hurts, for a 6-month-old to be riding down the street and become victim to gun violence — random gun violence between two people who can’t resolve a simple issue."
The shooting marked the third death of a child under the age of six in Atlanta this year alone, Mayor Andre Dickens said Monday.
“These children are bearing the burden and the pain of adults who are choosing to use guns to solve disputes,” Dickens said. “The children are bearing this burden with their lives. And I’m here to ask and to demand that it stop right now.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement, “Our hearts are broken for the loss of this innocent child.”
“We mourn this unfathomable tragedy tonight with the family,” he tweeted. “This kind of lawlessness must end, & these criminals must be held accountable."