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Atlanta authorities claim to have identified the young man who fatally shot 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie in the head, but the suspect is nowhere to be found.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Atlanta Police Department told reporters that they are are looking for 24-year-old Virginia man Daquan Reed, and they obtained arrest warrants in the case. Now, they want the public’s help finding him.
When reached for comment, Atlanta police sent information about their tip line to Law&Crime:
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Daquan Reed should contact 911 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta. Information on the case can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com. Persons do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for the reward of up to $10,000 for the arrest and indictment of the suspect.
Police said Reed is the man responsible for the incident that left Maxie in the hospital. Officers responded to the Scottish Rite Hospital regarding a child being shot. The victim’s aunt told them she had been driving past Phipps Plaza shopping mall when she heard gunshots, according to police. She kept driving and later realized that Kennedy had been shot. The aunt took Maxie to the hospital, where the child underwent surgery in critical condition. She would not survive her injuries.
Reed, a Virginia man with a felony conviction for forgery, was at Saks Fifth Avenue in the parking lot on Dec. 21, Atlanta police Detective Lt. Pete Malecki said in a press conference. He got into an argument. The argument ended, and he left the parking lot in a vehicle, but in a “senseless act of rage,” he fired from the window, the detective said. One of the rounds struck Kennedy Maxie.
Protecting an ongoing investigation, Malecki explicitly omitted investigative steps during his remarks, but he told a reporter that he believed that the child was not the intended target.
The detective said they believe Reed was the only shooter. He did not go into detail regarding how they identified him as a suspect, but he cited a witness who was “extremely beneficial.”
It is unclear why Reed was in Georgia. Malecki said that is still under investigation.
The suspect 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.
[Image via City of Atlanta Police Department]