GRIFFIN, Ga. — A 4-year-old who was shot at an apartment complex last week has died, police said Thursday.
The child died just after 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to authorities. The incident originally happened in Griffin last Thursday.
Griffin Police said officers were called to help a gunshot victim at an apartment complex at 1110 W. Poplar St., and that they arrived to find the child hurt and rushed to give him medical attention. The young boy was life-flighted to Navicent Health in Macon due to his injuries and had been in critical condition.
Police later said they arrested his 24-year-old mother and a 20-year-old man in the case. Initially, the man faced charges of cruelty to children and second-degree reckless conduct, along with false reporting, obstruction of officers and tampering with evidence. The child's mother faced similar charges, according to investigators. However, those charges have now been upgraded to second-degree homicide.
Authorities said the man had been out on bond for a previous arrest.
In the incident reported, responding officers found the child with a gunshot wound to the abdominal area. The child's mother, according to police, could not provide a statement at the scene because she was "irate and emotional" and her "only concern was for her child."
The man who was arrested, however, did provide a statement to police telling officers he and the child were in front of the building when a Black Kia approached on W. Poplar St. He said the vehicle came to a stop and the front passenger window rolled down and Black male wearing a black hoodie and ski mask pointed a gun and shot two to four times. The man said the car sped off and he noticed the child “laying on the asphalt in a puddle of blood.”
The man admitted to having issues with an East Side gang but didn’t know who the shooter was.
Police have not yet released details on who they believe shot the child or whether it was accidental.