A six-year-old Monroe County girl was accidentally killed by a gunshot fired by her 13-year-old brother.
Atonzo Smith, 39, was found shot in the "abdomen area" behind his home shortly after midnight Tuesday morning, says Cordele Police Sgt. Jeremy Taylor.
Officers were dispatched to a shots fired call, according to a press release, and while in route, a second caller advised that someone had been shot behind the home at 508-B W. 18th Avenue in Cordele.
Smith was on the ground with a gunshot wound. He was "conscious but not alert," Taylor says.
All investigators know is that Smith had gone to his back door to speak with someone and that gunshots followed. When family members ran out back, they found Smith and called 911.
Taylor says this is the third homicide this year in Cordele.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigations has been called in to assist the Cordele Police Department. Detective Ketorie Sales is leading the investigation.
Authorities ask that anyone with any information relevant to this crime contact the Cordele Detective Division at 229-276-2921.