Police now believe the bullet that killed a 3-year-old child may have had a different origin than they first thought – and they’re hoping new video will lead to more witnesses.
Originally, DeKalb police said Roshanda Craig was driving down Eastland Road late Sunday night when a gray Dodge Charger pulled up next to her moving car.
To begin with, they believed that the bullet that killed her son, T’Rhigi, in the backseat came from that car. Now, their theory has changed.
“Based on our investigation and evidence and facts that we got during the investigation, it’s pretty hard for that vehicle to, ah, possibly shooting at the victim’s vehicle,” DeKalb Police Lt. Rod Bryant said.
New information suggests that the fatal shot actually came from a Texaco gas station at the corner of Bouldercrest and Eastland roads. And it’s with that new information that police hope to find more witnesses and bring a child’s killer to justice. They still want to speak with the passengers of the passing car. But now, they’re not considered suspects in the crime.
PHOTOS | Mother searching for suspects after 3-year-old son shot, killed
And the shooting itself is not considered a targeted act of violence – at least not involving this mother and her child.
“To the mother, I think it’s random. Think she was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Bryant said. “Something happened there. She just happened to be at that intersection and her car was struck.”
Along with the new revelation in the shooting investigation, police also released video they believe shows other people, thought to be bystanders, inside the gas station near where the bullets were fired.
At least one of the potential witnesses may have even been outside when the shooting happened, Bryant said.
“We don’t have any direct evidence to say they were involved, so we’re going with witnesses right now,” he added.
A later clip shoes a third person walking to the door and then quickly ducking and backing away from the entrance. The second man to walk in appears unfazed and walks past the fleeing witness and into the parking lot – apparently following a female witness already outside.
T’Rhigi had only just turned three a week before. Now, just a week after his celebration, a mother is planning his funeral.
The story of the child’s death has spread across metro Atlanta since it was first reported over the weekend – even gaining the attention of Atlanta native and rapper 2 Chainz who said his son is around the same age.
Roshanda is still adamant that she saw someone in the Dodge Charger pointing a paint gun. But police said the evidence points to a stationary location – one near the gas station.
