Atlanta Police are investigating the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy outside a Southwest Atlanta skating rink on Saturday night.
According to the preliminary report, officers responded to the Cascade Skating rink at 3351 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr SW just before 11:30 p.m. in reference to a person shot.
Upon arrival, officers located the 13-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to Grady Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner identified the boy as DeShon DuBose, a student at Drew Charter School.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene and are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
District 10 Atlanta City Councilmember Andrea L. Boone issued the following statement about the shooting on Sunday evening.
“This is a somber time for our community as a young boy’s life was tragically cut short. This type of violence is especially abnormal for this area. The skating rink has in many ways been a safe haven for families. It has been that way for decades because Cascade Family Skating and the Alexander family have poured love and care into this treasure of Southwest Atlanta. It is a true staple of the Adamsville community and the city of Atlanta. To see this type of violence is deeply disturbing. Any loss of life is felt in our community, but for such a young boy to fall victim to this here, it is very tragic,” Boone said.
Atlanta City Councilmember Keisha Waites said in a statement, “If we had an enforced curfew, there is a possibility we could have saved our city’s most recent teenage murder victim.”
Waites proposed a curfew following the November murder of 12-year-old Zyion Charles. As the body count of teenage gun victims rises, Waites said she will continue to push for the City Council to protect youths.