Kennedy Maxie

Police identify suspect in death of Sedalia Park ES student

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Kennedy Maxie, Sedalia Park student shot

Atlanta Police said Tuesday they have secured felony warrants against a man they believe fired the shots that led to the death of a Sedalia Park Elementary School student last week.

Police said during a news conference that Daquan Reed, 24, is wanted for murder and other charges stemming from a Dec. 21 incident at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.

Kennedy Maxie, 7, was riding in a car with her mother and aunt after Christmas shopping when she was struck by a stray bullet, police said previously, and that she was rushed to Childrens Healthcare Atlanta Scottish Rite.

The girl died on Saturday night, and a $15,000 reward for information about the case continued.

Police said Tuesday that there was an argument and a fight in the parking lot of the Saks Fifth Avenue store at Phipps and that Reed may have been among the individuals involved.

Lt. Pete Malecki, an Atlanta Police homicide investigator, said Reed left the scene in a car and began shooting, and the gunfire hit the girl in the back of the head.

The other warrants against Reed include possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during a crime and reckless conduct.

Malecki said it was “relentless investigative work” that led to identifying a suspect, but that while “we have a lot of work to do to apprehend Mr. Reed . . . it’s our hope that this will provide a sliver of relief to Kennedy’s family.”

A fundraiser set up by the girl’s godmother to provide assistance to the family has received more than $60,000 in donations, and many messages of condolence:

“My heart is broken. May God comfort the family and give them strength. And, I pray those responsible for this senseless tragedy be found and brought to justice quickly before they hurt anyone else. RIP baby girl.”

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Sedalia Park ES student dies after being shot in Buckhead

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Kennedy Maxie, Sedalia Park student shot

WSB-TV is reporting Sunday afternoon that Kennedy Maxie, a 7-year-old student at Sedalia Park Elementary School in East Cobb, has died after being shot in the head in Buckhead on Monday.

The television station said the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the girl died Saturday evening.

She had been at Children’s Healthcare Atlanta at Scottish Rite since being taken there Monday evening, after she and her mother and aunt were leaving Phipps Plaza, where they had been Christmas shopping.

Atlanta Police said the girl was sitting in the back of a car when she was struck by a stray bullet. A reward for information about the incident had been raised to $15,000.

But there have been few details from police about leads in the case, and about why there was shooting in the area.

The girl’s godmother began a fundraiser that has netted more than $45,000. There has been no word from her or the family since a Christmas Eve message.

UPDATED: Atlanta Police Monday confirmed the girl’s death and said a $15,000 reward remains.

 

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Fundraiser started for Sedalia Park student shot in Buckhead

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Kennedy Maxie, Sedalia Park student shot

UPDATED Sunday, Dec. 27, 1:35 p.m.: WSB-TV is reporting that the girl died Saturday night.

A Sedalia Park Elementary School student is fighting for her life after being shot in the head in Buckhead earlier this week, and friends are working to raise money for her family.

Kennedy Maxie, 7, was rushed to Children’s Healthcare Scottish Rite after the Monday incident. She was riding in a car with her mother and aunt after Christmas shopping near Phipps Plaza when she was shot in the head by a stray bullet, according to Atlanta police.

An online fundraiser begun by Cassandra Wood, the girl’s godmother, sought $25,000 and had raised more than $37,000 from more than 500 donors as of Thursday.

Wood said the donations will go directly to the girl’s mother. The family lives in Mableton. “Please pray for a Christmas miracle for our precious girl!” Wood said in her appeal.

A $15,000 reward for information has been set by Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta (404-577-8477) after several individual donations.

 

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