Juvenile Killed in Atlanta Shooting; Two Teen Suspects Arrested

By Tiffany Williams –

Atlanta — The night was already heavy with tension when the calls began pouring in.

It was February 24, 2026. The time: approximately 9:49 p.m. Atlanta Police Zone 1 officers rushed toward the 2200 block of Tiger Flowers Drive NW after reports of gunfire.

Two people had been shot.

When officers arrived, they found an adult woman and a juvenile girl. Both had suffered apparent gunshot wounds.

The adult victim was transported for care alert, conscious, and breathing.

The juvenile victim was transported for care in critical condition.

But despite the desperate race to the hospital, the young victim did not survive.

She succumbed to her injuries there.

Investigators with the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit moved in quickly, working to determine how a violent burst of gunfire had shattered that February evening.

What happened next would begin to unfold piece by piece.

Detectives gathered evidence. They interviewed witnesses. They worked the scene. Slowly, investigators say, the picture sharpened.

Two young suspects emerged in the investigation.

On February 26, 2026, investigators with the Atlanta Police Department’s Homicide Unit secured arrest warrants for Preston Smith (11/2006).

The charges were severe: Murder, Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, three counts of Aggravated Assault, Criminal Damage to Property in the 2nd Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and four counts of Cruelty to Children in the 3rd Degree.

Days later, on March 2, 2026, Smith walked into the Fulton County Jail and surrendered.

But he was not alone in facing the weight of the investigation.

Another suspect, Steven Richardson (1/2009), also came into the spotlight.

Authorities say Richardson was charged with Murder, Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, three counts of Aggravated Assault, Criminal Damage to Property in the 2nd Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, four counts of Cruelty to Children in the 3rd Degree, and possession of a Firearm by a Person Under 18.

On February 27, 2026, Richardson self-surrendered to the Fulton County Jail.

Two arrests. Two young suspects. A homicide investigation still unfolding.

Meanwhile, the aftermath of that February night remains painfully clear.

An adult woman wounded.

A juvenile girl dead.

And detectives still working to determine the full chain of events that led to gunfire in a neighborhood street just before ten o’clock at night.

The investigation continues.