DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities have arrested a 14-year-old boy in connection to a shooting that killed a man in front of his 16-month-old daughter on Thursday, according to WSB-TV.
Authorities told WSB that the shooting happened at a Shell gas station around 6 p.m. after a group of people got into an argument. John Battle, 28, was leaving the gas station when dozens of shots rang out from inside the gas station and the parking lot, the news station reported.
Battle, who was in the car with his girlfriend and their young daughter, was caught in the crossfire and died of his injuries, WSB reported.
Battle’s mother, who was not identified by name, told WSB that her son and his family went to the Shell gas station to pick up energy drinks. She said her son was shot and crashed the car as he tried to drive them away from the area.
“My son and his girlfriend were bent over in the car, ducking in the car,” she said, according to WSB. “And I guess my son came up too early and that’s how he got shot in the head.”
Battle’s mother remembered her son as an all-American boy who was kind, generous, hard working and dedicated to his family. Battle’s sister, Kamylla Yancey, told WSB that her brother was someone who “would never say no, to a person in need.”
“That’s probably why God called him home, because he’s such a gentle heart, a gentle spirit,” she told the news station.
“I feel like I’m in a dream right now, and to find out that little boy shot and killed my brother is very crazy.”
The 14-year-old arrested in connection with the shooting was also shot and hospitalized with injuries, WSB reported. He faces charges of armed robbery and felony murder, according to the news station.
Authorities did not identify the suspect because of his age.
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