On Monday afternoon, six-month-old baby Grayson Fleming was caught in a crossfire near Anderson Park in Atlanta, killing him instantly. Authorities said that the suspect, 22-year old Dequasie Little, was taken into custody in Decatur on Tuesday morning for murder and aggravated assault.
Caught in a crossfire
According to the police, bullets caught the baby in a crossfire of a shootout between two people. Authorities then took the baby to Grady Memorial Hospital, but he was already pronounced dead.
"This was two people involved in gun violence, and the child was an innocent victim," Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said.
The shooting happened before 3 PM on Monday near Food Mart on Anderson Avenue, where Kerri Gray frequently shops with her son. She said she heard a noise, so she pulled off to the side. She saw two cars speed past her. When she saw the gun barrel, she checked her son.
Gray opened the back door and saw her baby slumped over his car seat. When she noticed a pool of blood on his lap, her heart began to race, the mother said. She said she knew Grayson was dead when she pressed her baby against her.
In an interview with a newspaper, Gray said, "I pulled him out of the car seat, and I grabbed him, and when I did that, that's when I felt the pieces - the loose pieces in the back of his head."
The bullet had gone through the trunk, his eye, and his back; Gray told reporters. The mother added the bullet hit the trunk, and there was no shattered glass; hence, there was no sound. There was also no crying. The baby died in an instant.
Gray said that Grayson is a miracle baby she dreamt of having her whole life. She said she still got up to make her baby's bottle Tuesday morning.
Suspect arrested in 24 hours
On Tuesday, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the arrest of the suspect, 22-year-old Dequasie Jonathan Little. The authorities arrested him for felony murder and aggravated assault. His first hearing was on Wednesday, but he waived it. He will remain in the Fulton County Jail without bond.
Little had a rap sheet dating back to 2019, including child cruelty charges. He was recently released from Houston County Jail after his probation on misdemeanor charges of battery and child cruelty.
"I won't cheerlead the fact that we were able to apprehend this person in such a short period of time," Bryant said.
He added that it is a tragedy losing any citizen of the country. "But when it's a child, it pulls even more at the heartstrings, not just of the men and women of the Atlanta Police Department, but throughout the community," he added.
Grayson is the 12th homicide of the year in Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it is also the second deadly Atlanta shooting of the year involving babies.
