Police: Man dead, child injured in attempted murder-suicide

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A 6-year-old boy was recovering Monday night after police said his father shot the boy and then himself.

Officers were called out to 1480 Desoto Avenue SW along the northern boundary of Perkerson Park around 4:26 p.m. for a shooting call.

"My aunt and uncle found a little boy in the back seat he appeared to be shot," said Diamond Crawls, who said her family member made the gruesome discovery.

Police said officers arrived at the scene to find a man and a juvenile suffering from gunshot wounds.

"The first occupant they encountered was a 6-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to his face, he was alert and conscious, he was immediately transported to Eggleston Hospital," said Major Andrew Senzer.

Police said the boy was transported in stable condition to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston. The man had passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head, police said. Major Senzer identified the man as the boy's father.

The major said it's unclear what led to the grisly act of a father taking his own life after shooting his son in the face.

"At this point, we really don't know what precipitated the event. Our gun assault team is and homicide team are on-site trying to piece everything together right now," said Major Senzer.

Major Senzer said the man and the boy did live in the neighborhood.

The major said investigators want to talk to relatives of the boy and his father to try to understand what led to the unthinkable act.

"By all accounts, it appears to be an attempted murder with a suicide," said Major Senzer

As of late Monday night, the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office had not released the name nor identity of the man.