Sleeping 9-year-old shot in the head during drive-by shooting, Georgia cops say
A 9-year-old boy was asleep in his bed when bullets fired from a passing car struck and killed him, according to Georgia authorities. Now there’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
The incident unfolded around 11 p.m. Sunday, the Albany Police Department wrote on Facebook. Officers responded to a shooting at a home on West Gordon Avenue, where they discovered a child had been shot in the head.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Authorities have since identified the boy as Nigel Brown. His mother found him unresponsive in bed after a car drove by and fired shots at their home. Several others were also inside the house at the time, police said.
It’s unclear if there are leads on a possible suspect.
“The Albany Police Department is saddened by the tragic loss this city experienced last night,” officials wrote Monday on Facebook. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.”
The shooting sent shock waves through the community, amplifying calls for a stop to the violence.
“Parents should not have to worry if there [sic] babies will be safe in their beds asleep,” one person commented under the police department’s initial post. “I cannot imagine what his mama is going through. This is just terrible.”
“So much senseless death,” wrote another. “It needs to stop now!! Prayers for his family and this crime ridden place we live in.”
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the Albany Police Department at 229-431-2100 or Crime Stoppers at 229-436-TIPS.
Albany is about 90 miles southeast of Columbus.
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 7:54 AM with the headline "Sleeping 9-year-old shot in the head during drive-by shooting, Georgia cops say."