Elijah Munson was 11 when he was fatally shot in Riverdale, Georgia, on the evening of December 9, 2021. The fifth-grader had moved with his family from Chicago to the Atlanta area hoping to escape gun violence; he lived with his grandparents and three brothers and wanted to play professional football one day.

The shooting happened about 5:19 p.m. in the 6000 block of Westbury Road. Elijah was with a group of friends when an argument began. A bystander reportedly heard someone say you play too much, man just before the shot. Elijah was pronounced dead at the scene.

Clayton County police arrested the 12-year-old and charged him in juvenile court with murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and cruelty to children. Investigators were also looking into who owned the gun and whether that person would face charges. Elijah’s mother, Kendall Munson, said she believed the shooting was a tragic accident and stressed her anguish that a child had access to a firearm.

Did anyone in the Riverdale area see the group that evening or have information about how the child obtained the gun?