11-year-old shot at apartment complex in northwest Atlanta

Child shot at Atlanta apartments prone to violence

An 11-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet at The Commons apartments in Atlanta. According to data, there were 14 aggravated assaults and two murders reported at the complex in 2025. 

ATLANTA - An 11-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet Saturday afternoon at The Commons apartments, according to police.

Shooting injures 11-year-old boy

What we know:

Atlanta police say the shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. while multiple women were outside fighting. 

During the altercation, investigators believe a woman dressed in all black fired a gun into the air. That bullet then struck the 11-year-old child.

Boy struck by bullet

What we don't know:

The boy was rushed to the hospital for treatment, but police have not yet released the extent of his injuries. They also have not confirmed if the woman responsible has been taken into custody.

Violence at The Commons apartments

Local perspective:

The Commons has been plagued by violent crime over the past year. According to the Atlanta Police Department's crime tracking map, there were 14 aggravated assaults and two murders reported at the complex between January 1 and December 31, 2025.

Saturday's shooting is just the latest in a string of violent incidents involving young people and neighbors at the property. Last May, a 14-year-old boy was shot at the complex and had to be treated at Grady Hospital. In June and November of last year, two separate shootings claimed the lives of a 34-year-old man and a 35-year-old man.

Tensions at the complex have previously turned local disputes into gunfire. In July, a mother and her two daughters were shot during a fight with a neighbor over a jump-start for a car. Most recently, on Christmas Eve, an off-duty officer shot a man after being flagged down by residents who reported someone firing a weapon on the property.

A chaotic scene

What they're saying:

"We saw people running back and forth to what’s behind me here. Eventually, we heard about 8 gunshots, 8 gunshots, then people running, chaos out here, chaos in our communities," said witness Amaziah Israel.

Witnesses told Fox 5 it was a chaotic scene at the apartment complex on Saturday afternoon. 

"People running, seeing what is going on with the kids crying. Everyone like, "Hey, put the guns up. Why y'all put the guns out here for? Y'all don’t even need guns," said witness Blake the Great. "Parents, make sure you take care of your kids. Put the guns away. We don't need guns; we need more adults out here to get involved in the community, man."

One witness said the community is going through a lot of trauma because of gun violence. 

"Our people are going through traumatic situations, and we are here for the violence to stop and change the minds of our people," Israel said.

"Every day it’s a shooting out here, every day shooting out here, we need our community," Blake the Great added.