Two Georgia police officers are under investigation after shooting at five black minors during a traffic stop on Saturday morning.
No one was struck by the gunfire, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).
According to a GBI report, a police officer witnessed a traffic violation in Waycross, a city near the Georgia-Florida state line, at about 8 a.m. Saturday and tried to get the car’s license plate information. The exact traffic violation was not disclosed.
In the car were five Black minors, all siblings, aged 9, 12, 14, 15, and 16.
As the officer approached the car, the three youngest children ran out of the car toward their mother’s house, another sibling, Savannah Boyd, told NBC affiliate FirstCoastNews. According to the GBI report, the officer followed the three children who had fled the car and a second officer was called to the scene.
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The two older children were still inside the car when the second officer approached from the front and opened fire; the officer told investigators that the car had been driving toward him and that the teenagers jumped out as the car was still moving, the GBI reported.
An altercation ensued between the second officer and the 15-year-old, who was later treated for minor injuries while being handcuffed.
Boyd, who posted a Facebook Live video about the incident, had harsher words for the interaction:
“He’s Black. He’s a Black young man in this country, and it’s a scary situation and I feel for him,” she told FirstCoastNews. “Stuff like that shouldn’t happen. Police are supposed to be here to protect and serve.”
The siblings were dropping off their 9-year old brother at a football game, according to Boyd. They decided to return home once they realized the officer was following them, but were pulled over while turning onto their street.
It was then, she said, that the oldest brothers told their three youngest siblings to run to their mother’s house down the street.
“The youngest one I really feel for. Every football game he’s going to think, ‘Wow I almost got shot before a football game,'” Boyd said. “He’s going to tell this story. He’s going to remember this. My little sister is going to remember running from the police and falling in her own yard almost getting shot.”
The two older boys in the car were detained and are facing charges while the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
The shooting is one of four incidents in less than 24 hours being investigated by the GBI. The bureau has investigated more than 55 officer-involved shooting incidents this year so far.
Wilson Wong
Wilson Wong is a news associate.
