A young boy shot and killed an infant in a stroller while he was attempting to rob the boy’s mother, police in Georgia said.
The mother was confronted by two boys on Thursday morning and described the shooter as a black male between the ages of 13 and 15. Another boy was a couple of years younger, police said.
The incident happened in Brunswick, Georgia, about 80 miles form Savannah.
The young duo reportedly demanded money from the mother, and, when she did not cooperate, the older boy opened fire , killing her infant son.
“He said ‘I’m going to kill you if you don’t give me money,’ and I said, ‘I swear I don’t have any,’ ” the mother, Sherry West, tearfull y recounted to WAWS-TV of Jacksonville.
As the boy opened fire, Sherry said she tried to protect her 13-month-old son, Antonio .
“I put my arms over my baby and he shoves me and then he shot my baby right in the head,” West told WAWS-TV .
Police said they have no motive in mind for the senseless killing .
Sherry also suffered injuries in the robbery attempt, but police said they were non-life threatening.
After the boy shot and killed the infant, police with automatic weapons went door-to-door searching for suspects.
“Mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, brother, sister, if you know something, bring young people in or call in the information,” said Brunswick Mayor Bryan Thompson. “We need info. They will be caught, but we need help to get them off the street, and the help they need also.”
Thompson added that, if residents have information on the boy who shot and killed the infant and doesn’t share it with police, they are as guilty as the shooter.
“If they have info, not giving info, they’re complicit in this murder also,” said Thompson. “Their finger on the trigger, as surely as shooter’s finger on the trigger of the gun.”
Officials have expanded their search for the boy who shot and killed the infant and are offering a $10,000 reward for “information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for this horrific act.”