16-year-old killed in overnight shooting at unauthorized graduation party identified

ATLANTA - A 16-year-old girl is dead, and a 16-year-old boy is being treated after the pair were shot near Benjamin E Mays High School in southwest Atlanta.

Atlanta Police say there was a confrontation during a graduation party in the school's parking lot prior to the shooting, which happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. 

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The girl was found at the scene and transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced deceased. The 16-year-old boy was also transported by ambulance to a hospital and is reportedly stable. His exact condition is unknown, and he has not been identified. 

No one has been arrested at this time and police have not released any information about a possible suspect.

Bre’Asia Powell (Supplied)

The Fulton County Medical Examiner identified the 16-year-old as Bre’Asia Powell. 

"There were no prior altercations that led to this shooting. There was nothing that Bre’Asia did to cause this, to bring this about, to incite this," said family friend Davida Huntley. "This was an unfortunate tragedy that has shaken a family and friends circle to its core."

Atlanta mayor addresses overnight shooting at unauthorized graduation party

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, the superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, the school police department and Atlanta Police held a press conference on Sunday afternoon to discuss the incident.

During the press conference, Dickens said he had spent the morning talking to the mothers of the young girl who was killed and the 16-year-old boy who is currently hospitalized.

Dickens talked about the need for teenagers to make better decisions, which means going home after a certain time of night and not looking for the next thing to do. He also talked about the need for parents to monitor their children and be involved in their lives.

Dickens, who attended the high school where the shooting took place, revealed that the teenager who was killed was supposed to start working for the City of Atlanta on Tuesday as part of its youth employment program. Dickens recently declared it the Year of the Youth and the City will be offering teens a variety of activities this summer to keep them occupied and off of the streets.  

Few additional details were released about the actual shooting. The Atlanta Police Department said that it is still unknown who fired the shots and what led up to the shooting. APD says that teenagers from across the city were in the area for the unauthorized party, but didn't say how many, and several people may have been involved in the incident that led to the shooting.

Atlanta Public Schools says that it will be offering support for anyone who may have been impacted by the shooting and encouraged anyone who needs it to check their website for information. 

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Atlanta Public Schools has released the following statement:

"According to Atlanta Police, two teenagers were shot during an unauthorized gathering at the end of the exiting driveway at Benjamin E. Mays High School, early Sunday morning. One is deceased and one is being treated at a local hospital. The gathering occurred after a graduation party at another location in the community was broken up by Atlanta Police a couple of hours earlier. Please contact Atlanta Police for more information."