DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — On Friday, a DeKalb County community came together to remember the life of a 7-year-old who was shot and killed earlier this week outside a gas station.
Warrants say the father of Zayre Daugherty is facing one count of second degree murder and two counts of second degree cruelty to children in connection to the 7-year-old's death.
Daugherty played football at Gresham Park -- that's where family, friends and teammates release balloons and gathered in prayer.
DeKalb county commissioner Larry Johnson was there Friday night and spoke about gun safety and the importance of remembering such a young life lost.
"Gun safety is so important to our community. and for the community to come together to honor this 7-year-old who's a football player, who's the life of the party for many," Johnson explained. "This is what we have to do. This is what the community is about."
Photos: Family, friends, football teammates remember Zayre Daugherty
According to warrants, 42-year-old Dante Daugherty left Zayre and his 6-year-old brother in his car while he went inside the convenience store of the Texaco gas station off Rock Chapel Road.
Surveillance video from the gas station shows Dante walking toward the store, leaving the two young boys alone in the car. Moments later, the right passenger door of the car swings open, and one of the boys can be seen sprinting across the gas station lot.
Warrants state the boys found the gun and that the 7-year-old was shot in the head. The warrants and the video do not offer any further detail into the moments that led up to the gun going off.
The video does not show when Daugherty reemerges or when he would have found his 7-year-old son shot.
The father was in court on Wednesday for a first appearance, where a judge denied him bond.
DeKalb County officials issued an urgent plea Thursday afternoon, calling on the community to help prevent gun violence, especially the kind that leaves kids hurt, or worse, killed, in the process.
"Keeping the guns out of the hands of children will eliminate this from happening in the future," DeKalb County Police Department Chief Mirtha Ramos said. "Arrests will be made. We are destroying families that are already suffering. It's painful, but we still have a job to do and we will do it."
One solution Ramos and DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond spoke about was offering free gun safes and lock boxes to keep the weapons from getting into the hands of children.
"A gun that is not properly secure with a lock in a safe is nothing but a death trap, a ticking time bomb for your children or your grandchildren or children in your immediate vicinity," Thurmond said.
Ramos said unsecured guns are a problem in the community, whether it's children accidentally picking them up or people stealing them from cars.
At least 850 guns were stolen from cars in DeKalb County last year, Ramos said. The safes can prevent the guns from being taken, even if the car is broken into.
"Sometimes when we ask ourselves the questions, 'Where are the criminals getting these guns?' They're getting them from you, the community. They're getting them from your car," she said.
One day after the gathering for Zayre, DeKalb officials hosted a Community Outreach and Safety Fair at the Big Lots parking lot at 3358 Chamblee Tucker Road to offer the lock-boxes for free, aimed at trying to prevent further tragedies.
"It's not just today that we need to worry about gun safety," Ramos added. "It's today, tomorrow, and always."