7-year-old girl dies from gunshot wounds, $5,000 reward offered
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A 7-year-old girl died Monday from her wounds after she was struck by a stray bullet inside a DeKalb County home a week and a half ago.
DeKalb County Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of 7-year-old Mariasia Thomas.
The girl died Monday, 10 days after she was wounded in the back of the head by a stray bullet inside of her foster parent’s home on Satellite Boulevard in Ellenwood.
DeKalb County Police quickly announced the reward after learning of the young girl’s death.
Public Safety Director Jack Lumpkin said, “When a child is violently injured, members of our community, as well as each member of our public safety team, is affected.”
Lumpkin added, “The DeKalb County Police Department is reaching out to the community for help to find the person responsible for this crime.”
The April 12 shooting riddled the home with several bullets.
The day after the shooting, the foster mom told FOX 5’s Emilie Ikeda there easily could have been more victims. Her son and 3-year-old grandson had been inside the home minutes before.
Residents in the neighborhood described hearing the gunshots.
“It sounded like a cannon, multiple cannon shots like, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Jecorey Jackson said.
“It sounded like it was in my driveway [or] out here in my yard, the way it sounded, that's how loud it was,” said Jack Statum, who lives next door.
“I woke up to almost like 10 or 15 shots,” said another neighbor, who did not want to share her name. “It was like somebody was shooting at me, I thought.”
Anyone with information about this incident should contact the DeKalb County Police Department at 770-724-7850 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477).
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