Squabbles over mayonnaise, a bowling ball and a blocked car ended in gunfire. Teenagers shot other teenagers over perceived slights. Bystanders got caught in crossfire.
In 2022, the number of homicides in the city of Atlanta ticked up for the third year in a row, ending at 170, nine more than the previous year and the highest tally since 1996. It’s a problem not at all unique to Atlanta, as cities around Georgia and elsewhere have also reported more homicides in recent years.
ExploreAtlanta’s 2022 homicide victims
A number of incidents involved youths, also a nationwide issue. A 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation analysis found that “firearms are now the No. 1 cause of death for children in the United States” and that “guns – including accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides – killed 4,357 children (ages 1-19) in the United States in 2020, or roughly 5.6 per 100,000 children. The U.S. is the only country among its peers that has seen a substantial increase in the rate of child firearm deaths in the last two decades.”
City leaders appeared with depressing regularity at crime scenes in 2022, often sounding exasperated.
“I hate being here talking about kids and gunfire,” Atlanta police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said after a Midtown shooting right after Thanksgiving that killed a 12-year-old and 15-year-old; two 16-year-olds and a 15-year-old were later charged with murder. “We just ask parents to know where your kids are, know what they’re doing. Check rooms. There’s just too many guns in the hands of our youth.”
One of last year’s youngest victims died just weeks into 2022. Grayson Matthew Fleming-Gray, who was 6 months old, was in his car seat on Jan. 24, 2022, when his mother’s car was struck in a drive-by shooting.
“These children are bearing the burden and the pain of adults who are choosing to use guns to solve disputes,” Mayor Andre Dickens said after the shooting. “The children are bearing this burden with their lives, and I’m here to ask, and to demand, that it stop right now.”
By the end of 2022, there would be a total of 19 children and teens declared homicide victims.
ExploreChildren, teens among 2022 shooting victims
“These young folks have been gunned down too soon and, unfortunately for their parents, they are going to have to bury a child,” said Dickens, who attended the funeral home visitation after Grayson was shot. He took office a year ago after a mayoral election that centered around fighting crime, and has maintained a visible presence after deadly incidents, both to comfort grieving families and to urge an end to the violence.
“Part of it is getting people to learn how to deescalate conflicts,” he said. “The vast majority of our homicides are interpersonal — people that are acquaintances, people that are familiar to one another, domestic violence, you have a business relationship or a neighbor. They are angry. They have access to a gun. And they use it.”
The solution isn’t going to be simple, city leaders have said.
“We’re challenged because we cannot be in every living room, and we can’t be at every slight or indiscretion, every perceived infidelity in a relationship, unpaid bills,” Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said. “Where we can be is arresting individuals that are engaged in gang activity. Where we can be is shutting down drug operations in the city and arresting people that are illegally possessing guns and being in places that we know are generating violence.”
Pleas for help
Deerica Charles had done everything she knew to do.
She was aware that her son, Zyion, 12, was hanging out with older kids and breaking into cars. Charles tried to get the police involved, even begging officers to arrest him.
“I cried out for help,” Charles said through her tears. “I cried out for it. I promise y’all, I cried out for it.”
On Nov. 26, Zyion was shot and killed on the 17th Street bridge in Midtown. Days later Cameron Jackson, 15, died after being injured in the same shooting.
“As a community, if we don’t come together and get the conversation straight about the real issue that’s going on, we’re going to lose a generation,” Tiffany Smith, Cameron’s mother, said after his death.
Three weeks later, Malik Grover, 14, and Justin Powell, 16, were killed and three others injured when gunfire erupted at the Retreat at Greenbriar apartment complex in southwest Atlanta. Investigators say the violence stemmed from an argument on social media.
“It’s heartbreaking and frustrating,” Schierbaum said. “We have to ask ourselves, as a society, how do 12, 13, 14-year-olds have guns and they’re committing crimes with guns?”
Dickens said parents need to be aware of where their children are and who they are with.
“I’m calling on parents to continue to know where their children are at all times,” he said. “Knowing where your teens are, knowing who their affiliates are, who they hang with and what they are up to.”
Atlanta police believe the shooting on the 17th Street Bridge was likely gang-related and Cameron, whose family said he dreamed of boxing in the Olympics one day, was the target.
“There are gangs that are actively recruiting young people, particularly (kids who) are expelled from school or those that are detached from their families,” Dickens said.

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