Investigators say a dispute led to shots fired into a northwest Atlanta home.
ATLANTA, GA — Atlanta police were searching Wednesday for the shooter who fired into a northwest Atlanta home late Tuesday, killing a 7-year-old girl and wounding her mother, as the police chief urged the suspect to turn himself in and promised an arrest.
The girl’s death, confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner as 7-year-old Zoey Price, set off a citywide investigation focused on what police described as an argument that escalated into gunfire about 30 minutes later. The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. in the 2200 block of Tiger Flowers Drive NW, near Joseph E. Boone Boulevard. Police said the mother, 44, was hospitalized in stable condition and expected to survive, while the shooter remained at large.
Officers were sent to the neighborhood at about 9:49 p.m. after reports of shots fired into a home, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. Patrol officers arrived to find the woman and her daughter suffering from gunshot wounds inside the residence. The chief said officers immediately began giving aid, then drove the child to Grady Memorial Hospital because of the wait for an ambulance. Zoey later died from her injuries, Schierbaum said, and the mother remained hospitalized after being transported to Grady as well.
Police said the gunfire followed a dispute between two people that began roughly 30 minutes before the shots were fired. Schierbaum said investigators believed the shooter traveled to the home and opened fire on the house, striking both the child and her mother. Police have not publicly identified a suspect, described a vehicle, or said how many shots were fired. The chief said detectives were working what he called strong leads, and he told the shooter to surrender. “You know who you are,” Schierbaum said during a late-night briefing. “If you are watching this broadcast, turn yourself in,” he said, adding that investigators would obtain an arrest warrant and take the suspect into custody.
Investigators said they believed the shooter and the victims knew each other, but the chief said early information did not point to a domestic violence case or a family member as the suspect. Police did not say what started the argument, whether it happened inside or outside the home, or whether it involved the mother directly. They also did not say whether the child was the intended target, a bystander, or struck by rounds that entered from outside. Those unanswered questions are central to the case, detectives said, as they try to map the timeline from the earlier dispute to the moment the shots hit the home.
On Wednesday morning, the street where the shooting occurred sat quiet as investigators continued working the scene and talking with neighbors, according to local reports. Police did not release details about where the shooter went after firing or whether officers had any immediate description to circulate. The department’s homicide unit typically leads cases involving fatal shootings, and such investigations often rely on a mix of witness interviews, surveillance video from nearby homes or businesses, phone records, and ballistic evidence from shell casings or bullet impacts. Police did not say what evidence had been collected or whether any cameras captured the gunfire.
Schierbaum emphasized the emotional toll on first responders, saying several officers received support after the shooting. He said cases involving children are especially difficult for officers who are parents and family members themselves. “When it’s a child, it hits home,” he said. He also pointed to the broader problem of gun violence and anger fueling shootings. “There’s still too many guns in the wrong hands,” he said, adding that officers would “bring justice to this community.”
The killing renewed attention on children caught in gunfire in Atlanta and across the region, including shootings in homes and neighborhoods where bullets travel through walls and windows. In recent years, local leaders and police have highlighted strategies meant to reduce retaliatory violence and prevent disputes from escalating, while investigators have also pushed for community help in identifying shooters who flee. Police did not announce any new policy steps Wednesday, but the chief’s message was aimed squarely at finding the person responsible for Zoey’s death and building a case that can hold up in court.
Cases involving shots fired into an occupied home can lead to multiple felony charges, even before a death is considered. Prosecutors often review evidence for possible charges such as murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, depending on the circumstances and what investigators can prove about intent and the chain of events. Police did not say Wednesday whether prosecutors had been consulted or when an arrest warrant might be sought. Schierbaum said detectives expected to secure a warrant, but he did not provide a timeline.
Police also did not say whether the shooter used a handgun, rifle, or another firearm, and they did not release information about where in the home the victims were struck. Officers commonly work to reconstruct bullet paths to understand where a shooter was standing and which rooms were hit. Investigators can also use ballistic evidence to determine whether the weapon was used in other crimes. Authorities have not said whether they believe this shooting is connected to any prior incidents in the area or whether it appears to be isolated to the earlier dispute.
Family members told local media the victims were the mother and her 7-year-old child, and the girl’s identity was later confirmed by the medical examiner as Zoey Price. Police have not released the mother’s name. Friends and neighbors, shaken by the violence, described the grief of losing a child to gunfire that came through the walls of a home. For many residents, the shooting raised fears about how quickly arguments can turn deadly and how children can be harmed even when they are not part of the conflict.
Investigators asked anyone with information to come forward, directing tips to Crime Stoppers. Police said tipsters can remain anonymous, and such tips can help detectives identify suspects, vehicles, or locations where a shooter may have gone after the gunfire. Authorities did not provide a public description of the suspect Wednesday, and they did not say whether they had recovered the weapon. The department also did not announce any arrests linked to the earlier dispute, leaving unclear whether anyone involved in that argument has been interviewed or identified.
For now, the case remains an active search for a shooter who police say targeted a home after a dispute and then fled. Detectives were expected to continue interviewing witnesses and reviewing any available video from the neighborhood, and the department signaled that additional updates could come as soon as a suspect is identified or a warrant is obtained. As of Wednesday, the mother remained hospitalized in stable condition, and the police chief said investigators would keep pressing leads until they had the shooter in custody.
Author note: Last updated February 25, 2026.