A mother has been left heartbroken after a fatal drive-by shooting claimed the life of her 6-month-old son.
The shocking incident took place on Monday at a Food Mart on Anderson Avenue NW near the intersection with Tiger Flowers Drive. An altercation between two adults quickly intensified. At some point during the dispute, a gun was fired and struck the vehicle that Grayson Matthew was riding in. The infant was shot while in the backseat as his mother drove. Emergency personnel responded and rushed the baby boy to the Grady Memorial Hospital, where he passed away.
Police Chief Rodney Bryant says his officers spent much of the afternoon comforting the baby’s mother, who has not been identified. He called the murder of the baby “painful.”
“I want the family of this innocent 6-month-old child to know that we care,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens stated.
Matthew is the second baby murdered in Atlanta this month and the 12th homicide in the city this year. Last week, a mother was charged with second-degree murder in the January 12th murder of her 1-year-old daughter, who was shot to death when another child found an unsecured gun in the home. On Wednesday, a 5-year-old child was grazed by a bullet while riding in a car in southwest Atlanta. Luckily, that child survived.
Police have not made any arrests in the case, and it is unclear if they have identified the persons who were arguing moments before the shooting.
6-month-old Grayson Matthew was fatally shot this afternoon while riding in a car along Anderson Ave. NW. Grayson’s mother said she was driving when she came upon a gunfight between people in two cars. The suspects remain on the loose. pic.twitter.com/bUw1WFsxjt
— ATLSCOOP (@ATL_SCOOP) January 25, 2022