Trial begins in shooting death of 7-year-old in Atlanta

[Arheel's Uncle]

Trial begins in shooting death of 7-year-old in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) -- The trial is underway for a man accused of fatally shooting a 7-year-old girl who was riding in a car with her family after a day of

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Trial begins in shooting death of 7-year-old in Atlanta​

Aug 14, 2022, 12:09 PM | Updated: 12:18 pm

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BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA (AP) — The trial is underway for a man accused of fatally shooting a 7-year-old girl who was riding in a car with her family after a day of Christmas shopping in Atlanta.
Fulton County prosecutor Pat Dutcher said in his opening statement on Friday that Kennedy Maxie was struck by gunfire after the defendant, Daquan Reed, was robbed of his cellphone and money outside the Phipps Plaza mall in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood.

Enraged, Reed picked up a pistol and fired it from the rear passenger seat of a car, Dutcher said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After the shooting, Reed got rid of the gun and told people not to talk to police before leaving the area, Dutcher said.
Reed’s attorney, Nicole Fegan, said though Kennedy’s death was “terrible,” her client was innocent, and there was no physical evidence that could establish his guilt.
“He is not guilty for each and every count charged,” she said.
Reed faces charges of felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm during a crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial is scheduled to continue on Monday, the AJC reported.
Reed was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service in Virginia a little more than two weeks after the shooting.
The AJC said jurors also heard from Kennedy’s mother, Mariah Maxie, and aunt Jade Maxie.
Kennedy was in the car with them, stopped at a red light, when shots rang out. Jade Maxie drove to the hospital, where Kennedy died five days later.
“I will never forget (that day),” Jade Maxie said.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Daquan Reed

Kennedy Maxie

Man wanted for murder of 7-year-old shot near Phipps Plaza arrested

Daquan Reed, 24, had been wanted in connection to the Dec. 21 shooting. He was caught Jan. 6 in Hampton, Virginia and taken into custody.

www.11alive.com

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Man wanted for murder of 7-year-old shot near Phipps Plaza arrested​

Daquan Reed, 24, had been wanted in connection to the Dec. 21 shooting. He was caught Jan. 6 in Hampton, Virginia and taken into custody.

Author: Addie Haney

Published: 3:04 PM EST January 6, 2021

Updated: 11:56 PM EST January 6, 2021



ATLANTA — The suspect wanted in the murder of a 7-year-old girl who was shot and killed while riding in the car near Phipps Plaza in Buckhead has been arrested.

Daquan Reed, 24, had been wanted in connection to the Dec. 21 shooting. He was caught Jan. 6 in Hampton, Virginia and taken into custody with the help of the US Marshals' Service, according to Atlanta Police. He is now awaiting extradition back to Atlanta.



"We are very appreciative of work our investigators and the US Marshals put into locating and apprehending Mr. Reed and we are relieved to know this murderer is no longer roaming anyone’s street," the department said in a statement.

According to police, Reed got into an argument in the parking lot outside Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza and, as he left, fired three times outside of his window.

One of those shots is believed to be the one that hit 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie in the head as she rode past the high-end shopping center in her aunt's car. She died Dec. 26 after a days-long fight for her life.

Credit: Provided

Kennedy Maxie

Reed, according to police, is believed to be from Virginia. It's not clear what ties, if any, he has to the Atlanta area. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Reed has been detained in the Atlanta area previously, and had also been previously convicted on a forgery charge.

RELATED: Suspect in murder of 7-year-old arrested previously, tied to different mall shooting

Police said they had a witness whose cooperation was "extremely beneficial to us moving forward as fast as we did in this case."

Reed now faces charges of felony murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and reckless conduct.

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

Shortly after the shooting, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms called it a "senseless murder."

"While the Atlanta Police Department has significant leads in the apprehension of those responsible, it does not erase the pain felt when a beautiful, vibrant, and loving child is tragically taken from her family," she said at the time.

Maxie's death has sparked a reckoning on gun violence among city leaders.

"Once again we're addressing a situation of a senseless shooting that we believe arose from individuals unable to resolve a situation civilly," interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant said Tuesday.



“This is just so profoundly sad to hear this happened," added community activist and lawyer Gerald Griggs. "This underscores what we’ve been talking about for a long time. It’s just one of those times that makes you reflect on what we need to do as a community.”

Griggs hopes city leaders can come together, from elected officials to Atlanta police, to create a task force from a proactive standpoint.

“One thing about Atlanta, we know how to pull together and address problems," he said. "But it’s time for our elected officials to ask for the assistance that is so vitally needed to solving these type of problems."

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Suspect in murder of 7-year-old arrested previously, tied to different mall shooting

Daquan Reed was arrested in 2019 after a shooting at a shopping mall in Virginia.

www.11alive.com

Crime

Suspect in murder of 7-year-old arrested previously, tied to different mall shooting​

Daquan Reed was arrested in 2019 after a shooting at a shopping mall in Virginia.

Author: Hope Ford, Michael King (11ALIVE)

Published: 11:58 PM EST December 29, 2020

Updated: 12:03 AM EST December 30, 2020



ATLANTA — The suspect in the murder of 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie was arrested in Atlanta by federal marshals last year in connection to another mall shooting, this one in Virginia.

Twenty-four-year-old Virginia native Daquan Reed is wanted for felony murder for the shooting.

According to Atlanta Police, Reed got into an argument in a parking lot outside Saks Fifth Avenue at Phipps Plaza, and, as he left, fired three times outside his window.

One of those shots is believed to have struck the girl in the head.

Little Kennedy was riding in the back seat of her mother's car and was shot in the head by a stray bullet as they passed Phipps Plaza days before Christmas.

She died on the day after Christmas.

Reed has a violent criminal history.

According to court records in Virginia, he was arrested there previously for assault and battery, as well as a strangulation charge and other misdemeanor charges. He was also previously convicted on forgery charges.

Our Norfolk sister station WVEC reports that he was arrested by US Marshals in Atlanta in October 2019 following a shooting at MacArthur Center Mall in Norfolk.

Two people were hurt during the Norfolk shooting.

RELATED: Atlanta Police name suspect in murder of 7-year-old girl

Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said on Tuesday that they are working to determine what his connection to Atlanta is and where he is now.

“We will find him and we will bring him back to the city to face justice," Bryant said.

RELATED: Mayor on conversation with Kennedy Maxie's mother: 'She said repeatedly her baby didn't deserve that'

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms promised to make sure the police department has what they need to make the arrest.

“APD is doing what they can," she said. "I do know if they’re resources they don’t have, we’ll move mountains to make sure they have what they need.”

There is a $15,000 reward for information leading to Reed's arrest in the case.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Maxie's death has sparked a reckoning on gun violence among city leaders.

7 year old's death sparks conversations among city leaders about gun violence

Her tragic death is one of about 155 murders the Atlanta Police Department has investigated in 2020. That's a 50 percent increase from the 99 homicides in 2019.

www.11alive.com

Dickens sat with youth from the correctional institution, Next Level Boys Academy, and found some of the reasons for the escalation in gun violence.

He believes a big part of it has to do with the lack of programs that help young people stay out of problems.

"They don't feel like they have a pathway and they want to show off what little they do have and there's a lot of money floating around the city of Atlanta and they are aware of it," he said. "The business community is going to have to come to the table and hire people from certain parts of town that they have never looked at before."

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IDIOTS, guns in the hands of young blacks is what your problem shooters are.