9-year-old shoots 7-year-old while waiting in car outside Chipotle, Georgia police say
A 7-year-old is recovering after authorities say he was accidentally shot by a 9-year-old in the parking lot of an Atlanta-area Chipotle over the weekend.
The shooting happened Sunday, Jan. 30, while an adult was inside picking up food at the restaurant in Snellville, according to a police news release. The 9-year-old got a hold of a firearm that was left unsecured in the car they were in, striking the 7-year-old.
A Chipotle employee recalled the chaotic scene and said the kids’ mother used a towel to stop the bleeding, WSB-TV reported.
“Some kids came in and they were screaming that someone shot him,” the employee told the news station. “You could see the visible gunshot wound coming out from his ear. We just stayed here applying pressure to the wound until the paramedics came.”
The 7-year-old was “alert and conscious” when taken to a hospital and is expected to be OK, according to authorities.
Police have released few other details about the incident and it’s unclear if any charges will be filed. McClatchy News reached out to Snellville police on Monday, Jan. 31, and was awaiting a response.
The incident marks the latest in a string of shootings involving young children in metro Atlanta. Last week, a 6-month-old boy was struck and killed by a stray bullet fired during a drive-by shooting in Atlanta, McClatchy News reported.
“These children are bearing the burden and the pain of adults who are choosing to use guns to solve disputes,” newly elected Mayor Andre Dickens said during a news conference. “The children are bearing this burden with their lives, and I’m here to ask and to demand that it stop right now.”
A 12-year-old was also charged with murder in the death of 11-year-old he allegedly shot during an argument in Riverdale last year.
Snellville is about 33 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 9:21 AM with the headline "9-year-old shoots 7-year-old while waiting in car outside Chipotle, Georgia police say."