Police said other people were inside the Rockcliff Road home when gunfire broke out early Thursday.
DECATUR, GA — A 13-year-old boy and a 45-year-old man were killed early Thursday when gunfire struck a DeKalb County home where children had gathered for a sleepover, police and relatives said.
DeKalb County police identified the victims as Demarcus Shirley, 13, Chauncey Newman, 45 and a dog. Officers were called before dawn to a home on Rockcliff Road SE, near Bouldercrest Road and Brannen Road SE. Investigators said several other people were inside the house when shots were fired, but no one else was hurt. Police had not announced any arrests by Thursday afternoon.
The shooting happened just before 4 a.m. in the 2400 block of Rockcliff Road SE, where homicide detectives spent the morning collecting evidence from the home and the area around it. Police said they found both victims dead inside the residence. A dog also was found shot and killed. Shirley’s friends told a local reporter they had been hanging out and having a sleepover before the shooting. “It hurt that it happened to him out of everybody. Like he had nothing. He was just a little kid playing,” one friend said.
Authorities said nine other people were in the home at the time and were not injured. Investigators have not said whether the gunfire came from outside the home or from someone inside. Reporters at the scene described visible bullet holes on the front of the house. Police also have not released a motive, the number of shots fired or whether any vehicle was seen leaving the area. By Thursday afternoon, investigators were searching for multiple suspects and asking for information from anyone who may know what happened.
Family members said Shirley did not live at the Rockcliff Road home and had gone there to spend time with friends. His great-uncle, Gregory Carthon, described him as a child with energy and promise. “He seemed eager to learn. Kind of athletic. He had a lot of life in front of him,” Carthon said. Police later identified the adult victim as Newman, but authorities had not said what relationship, if any, he had to Shirley or to the people inside the home.
The killings added to a series of recent shootings under investigation across DeKalb County and metro Atlanta, including cases in which homes and apartments became crime scenes. In this case, police have released few details about the path of the gunfire or the target of the attack. The home sits in a residential area southeast of Atlanta, near a corridor of homes, churches and small businesses. The early morning timing meant many neighbors were still asleep when police and crime scene units arrived.
No charges had been filed as of Thursday afternoon. Police said the case remains an active homicide investigation. Detectives are expected to review physical evidence from the home, speak with survivors and neighbors, and look for video from nearby homes or streets. Officials have not announced a news conference or a court date because no suspect has been publicly named. The medical examiner’s office is expected to handle formal death findings as the investigation continues.
Carthon asked anyone with information to help the family understand why Shirley was killed. “If anybody knows anything, please reach out and try to help us bring justice to what’s happened,” he said. “Just keep our family in your prayers.” Friends remembered Shirley as a child who was playing with others before the gunfire. Police said the people who survived the shooting were not physically injured, but investigators have not described what they saw or heard before shots rang out.
Police remained focused Thursday on finding the people responsible. The next major step is the identification of suspects or a public update from DeKalb County police on what led to the deadly shooting.
Author note: Last updated July 2, 2026.