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Suspect in murder of 7-year-old girl at Atlanta family gathering remains on the run, police say

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  November 10, 2022 9:00am EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Family mourns loss of 7-year-old girl killed by stray bullet

When 7-year-old Ava's father dropped his little girl off to stay with her mom for the weekend, he didn't think it would be the last time he saw his daughter alive.

ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department is still searching for a 23-year-old suspect wanted in connection to the deadly shooting of a 7-year-old girl.

Police believe Deshon Collin shot and killed Ava Phillips on the night of Aug. 27 on Jackson Street. According to investigators, officers found Phillips shot in the head at the Camden Vantage apartment complex in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. 

Investigators believe an argument at a family gathering escalated into the shooting and Ava was killed by a stray bullet.

Police believe Deshon Collin shot and killed Ava Phillips on at night on Aug. 27 on Jackson Street.  (Fulton County Sheriff's Office)

"Any death is tragic but when there's a child involved, it really hits home," Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said after the shooting. 

Atlanta police have made one arrest: 44-year-old Kemeka Springfield. 

Kemeka Springfield 

Investigators said Springfield is charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Collins is still on the run, wanted for murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

There's currently a $5,000 reward for information leading to Collin's arrest. 

Speaking to FOX 5 at a vigil at the apartment building, Ava’s father Jonathan Phillips said he was in "unberable pain" and that her family is devastated by the sudden loss. 

Phillips said when he dropped his son and daughter off to stay with their mom for the weekend, he didn’t think that would be the last time he saw his little girl alive. 

"We got a call last night … they were frantic saying she had been shot in the head," the grieving father recalled. 

He said he rushed to the scene to pick up his son while medics rushed Ava to a nearby hospital, but she had already succumbed to her injuries.

"She was a good girl man, the baby girl man … I got three boys … that was my baby girl," he said. 

If you have any information about Collin's location, call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477