STONE MOUNTAIN, GA - Two young boys, ages 11 and 12, were killed and two women, including a pregnant woman, were injured in a shooting that took place at a Stone Mountain apartment complex on Sunday, September 20.
The DeKalb County Police Department (DCPD) is actively searching for possible suspects. Authorities and the children's mother identified the two young boys that were fatally shot. Jamarion Rolle, an 11-year-old boy, died at the scene, and his brother, 12-year-old Ja'khi Clark, was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died from his injuries, 11Alive reported.
A 19-year-old woman and a 39-year-old woman were both hospitalized. Both were listed in stable condition. Clark and Rolle's mother, who did not identify herself, said that the shooting broke out three days after a fight after a football game, PEOPLE reported.
She said the family of the kids involved in the fight on Thursday came to their home during a barbecue on Sunday. She said that things escalated and a fight broke out before gunshots were fired. She did not share any other details about who was involved in the fight or how it escalated.
She said after hearing the gunfire, she ran over to her children and found Clark had been shot and Rolle had a gunshot wound to his head. She said her pregnant niece was also shot three times, along with the niece's mother.
DCPD said their preliminary investigation indicated that the "shooting may be connected to a fight or disagreement that occurred earlier in the day" and detectives were "actively working to determine the full circumstances surrounding this incident."
Clark attended Stone Mountain Middle School, while Rolle recently started 5th grade at Stone Mill Elementary School. Both schools have dispatched grief counselors for students in light of the incident.
A woman who knew both boys described them as close brothers who looked out for each other and for the children around them. "The kids were good kids. You know, they had good souls, good hearted kids. They were actually little kids, act like normal little kids do these days. They looked out for each other. They looked out for my kids. And they stuck together as a tight-knitted together, as you're supposed to. And it should never result in death, honestly. It should not."
"This is an unimaginable loss for the families involved and our entire community,” the DCPD said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by this senseless tragedy." A GoFundMe has been created to help with funeral costs.
Neighbors said they saw a group of men walk through the apartment complex parking lot toward a fence near the unit shortly before the shooting. The case remains active and no arrests have been made yet.
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