Ka’Mani’ Kirkland was 18 and a recent graduate of South Cobb High School when she died from a gunshot wound sustained in Austell, Georgia, on the evening of May 27, 2020. She had been planning to begin nursing school at Chamberlain University that fall. While driving near the East West Connector on Mesa Valley Way, Kirkland had picked up a former classmate, 17-year-old Christopher Morris; Morris was in the backseat and is believed to have been handling a gun when it discharged, striking Kirkland. She was taken to Wellstar Cobb Hospital, where she later died.

Christopher Morris was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and possession of a gun by a person under 18. A Cobb County grand jury later indicted him on involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, and he was released on a $25,000 bond. Family and friends remember Ka’Mani’ as outgoing, generous, the youngest of eight siblings and half-siblings, and full of plans for the future.

Did anyone in the Austell area see or hear anything about the car or events on Mesa Valley Way that evening?