3 juveniles arrested after young boy shot in Cobb County neighborhood, police say
SWAT standoff after young boy shot near Austell
A SWAT team moved into a Cobb County townhome community after a young boy was shot on Monday afternoon. Here's the latest from the scene.
AUSTELL, Ga. - Authorities say three juvenile suspects have been taken into custody for the shooting of a young boy at a Cobb County townhome community on Monday afternoon.
Townhome shooting
What we know:
First responders rushed to the scene just after 4 p.m. after receiving a report of gunfire near the intersection of Drennon Avenue and Austell Road.
According to the Cobb County Police Department, officers found a young boy suffering from an apparent gunshot wound in the parking lot of a townhome community off Padgett Drive.
The juvenile was stabilized and rushed to an area hospital.
A large police presence was seen in the area.
Shortly after 9 p.m., the SWAT team was seen pulling into the area. A spokesperson for the Cobb County Police Department initially denied the SWAT Team was at the scene, but later said the team was out there to serve a warrant.
FOX 5's Eric Mock reported hearing bangs shortly before the SWAT team left the scene shortly before 11 p.m.
On Tuesday morning, investigators say they identified three juvenile suspects and obtained arrest warrants. All three have been taken into custody.
Investigators tell FOX 5 that the shooting is believed to be an "isolated event."
Neighbor hears shooting
What they're saying:
Kenneth Jones, a resident who lives feet from where the shooting happened, said he was inside with his wife when the gunfire erupted.
"I heard, like, a couple of gunshots and heard, like, ‘pow, pow,’ and then, ‘pow, pow, pow, pow, pow,’" Jones recalled. "I came outside and I see a young boy laying on the ground. I called over to him to see if he was still breathing. And he was still breathing. I just told him, like, ‘Just keep breathing, man.’"
Jones said he held the boy’s hand until paramedics arrived.
"He was still breathing like he was going to sleep, you know," he said. "I never seen anything like that before."
The incident has shaken the tight-knit community, where Jones has lived for about two years. He said his wife recognized the boy from walking alone in the neighborhood in the past.
Jones, who is the father of a 14-year-old son, said the experience was deeply personal and emotional.
"It’s tearing me up. I thought about every young man I know his age. I seen my son," he said. "It was really emotional. I cried, because I’ve never seen that before. I’m an emotional person… it was like it was my son laying out there on the ground like that."
He hopes the boy survives.
"I hope he heard me. I want to think he heard me because I was like, ‘Don’t breathe too fast.’ So he slowed down his breathing a little bit. Hopefully, he did hear me."
What we don't know:
Cobb County police have not released any information about the suspects' identity or the boy’s current condition.
What's next:
The CCPD’s Major Crimes Unit is investigating.
What you can do:
Cobb County police are asking anyone with information or surveillance video to contact the department immediately.
The Source: The Cobb County Police Department provided the details for this article. This story has been updated since it was originally published to offer new details.