12-year-old shot in the neck after gunmen open fire on home, police say
Police say a 12-year-old girl was shot in the neck when someone opened fire on a home in Henry County on Thursday night. Layla Kendall’s family told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson that the girl is expected to make it but not without a long road to recovery while police look for two gunmen. When bullets hit a house along Pates Lake Way off Jonesboro Road late Thursday night, Layla’s godmother said there was no time to panic. “My job was to make sure she made it,” she said, asking only to be identified as Shawna. “I had to do what I was trained to do, and that was to save her life.' Layla is recovering now, in part because her godmother was able to use her skills as a nurse. “I kept her head, kept her stable, kept talking to her so she could respond until 911 could get there,” Shawna said. TRENDING STORIES: Man escapes home during SWAT standoff, runs into nearby woods 19-year-old found shot, killed in Clayton County 27-year-old Atlanta man dies after getting hit by boat propeller on Lake Oconee Henry County police say that someone opened fire on the house. When Johnson arrived at the home Friday, he counted 12 bullets holes on the outside of the house. Layla was visiting a friend when police say the shooting happened at around midnight “We heard some knocks at the door, and we didn't open the door, and the officer said it was good we didn’t open the door because we could have been ambushed,” Shawna said. Within seconds, they heard gunfire and Shawna rushed to help Layla, who was on the ground in the kitchen. “A 12-year-old child. She’s innocent, you know? Very, very innocent,” Shawna said. Layla has injuries to her neck and lower body and spent Friday undergoing multiple surgeries. Friends, family and police say they do not know who's responsible but they know this could have been worse. “We all could have been dead. The whole house could have been dead, not even knowing the reason behind it,” Shawna said. Johnson checked with Henry County police, and they say they are looking for two suspects who left in a dark gray BMW. The family has set up a GoFundMe account to help with the girl's expenses.
Bodycam video shows police officer saving child from locked hot car
Channel 2 Action News has obtained body camera video of an Atlanta police officer saving a child who was locked in a hot car. Her mother accidentally locked the child in the minivan along with the keys. That’s when she immediately called for help to get her baby out of the hot vehicle. The dramatic scene unfolded at The Peach shopping center along Peachtree Road in Buckhead on July 10. “Hey, ma’am, are you OK?” the officer can be heard asking the mother. “I need help getting into my car. My baby’s in there,” the mother says in tears. “I called right away. Just didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t have anything to break the window.” The video then shows the officer smashing the front passenger window and unlocking the doors to get the woman’s 7-month-old out of the hot car that had been sitting in the sweltering July heat. “It’s OK, buddy,” the officer can be heard saying to the baby inside as he breaks the window out. The Atlanta police officer who saved the child was Officer Ronald Stoddard. Channel 2’s Michael Seiden spoke with him Friday about the ordeal. TRENDING STORIES: Downpours, lightning, gusty wind moves through metro Atlanta 19-year-old found shot, killed in Clayton County 27-year-old Atlanta man dies after getting hit by boat propeller on Lake Oconee “As soon as I saw that the child was in distress, I immediately forced entry,” Stoddard said. This isn’t only incident lately. Just a few days before the Buckhead incident, Officer Michael Doherty had to use his training to rescue a 1-year-old boy who accidentally got locked inside a truck July 6 outside Krog Street Market “You want to do whatever it takes to get them out of the car,' Doherty said. On Friday, Seiden went to the emergency room at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. “Last year was a record-setting year, with 52 children who died due to being left in a hot vehicle,” Dr. Maneesha Agarwal, with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, said. So far this year, doctors say there have been no reported deaths in Georgia but an average of 37 kids die each year in hot cars nationwide. “There have been heat-related deaths reported when the temperature is as low as 60 degrees outside, so you really never want to leave your child unattended in a vehicle,” Agarwal said. With more than two months left of summer, doctors and first responders are hoping parents remain vigilant. “I have a 5-month-old at home. I think about this all the time with my wife. This could happen to anybody, so you did not do anything wrong, so don’t blame yourself,” Stoddard said. For more information about how to protect your child, you can click here .
