Baby killed, three women shot in home invasion

A home invasion late on May 10 ended with a 9-month-old boy dead and three women critically injured in an act of possible retaliatory violence, according to the DeKalb County Police Department.

Two to three men broke through the back door of a home on To Lani Farm Road in Stone Mountain around 11 p.m. Saturday, May 10, according to Cedric Alexander, the county’s deputy chief operating officer for public safety. Three women in the home fled to an upstairs bathroom with the baby, where they tried to lock themselves in. The men allegedly kicked through the door and fired several shots.

All victims were rushed to local hospitals where the 9-month-old died of multiple gunshot wounds. The women, ages 36, 23 and 21, are in critical, but not life-threatening condition, Alexander said.

The 21-year-old woman is believed to be the child’s mother.

The shootings may be related to another incident in the same area, one week prior, according to police. On May 3, 29-year-old Michael Phillips was killed by multiple gunshot wounds during a party at the Mountain Lake Apartment Homes, 1401 N. Hairston Rd., Stone Mountain, according to Alexander.

One person, Kemontae Cullins, 18, has been arrested in connection with the May 3 crime. Police say they are also looking to arrest Oslushla Smith, 19, and Cutrez Johnson, 16, in connection to the May 3 incident.

Smith and Johnson either lived at or had connections to the home on To Lani Farm Road, police said.

“We believe these men [Smith, Johnson, and Cullins] are also responsible for the death of Alexis Malone,” Alexander said.

Alexander said police were looking to interview Malone, 19, as a potential witness to the May 3 shooting, but Malone was found dead on Agape Way around 6 p.m. on May 10.

Alexander said that an arrest warrant has been issued for Kayla Dixon, 20, in connection with the death of Malone.

Though the suspects of the home invasion are currently unknown, police believe it was in retaliation for the death of Malone, Alexander said.

“All individuals are considered very dangerous and need to be apprehended,” Alexander said.

Timeline:

May 3, around 8 p.m.: 29-year-old Michael Phillips is killed at a party at the Mountain Lake Apartment Homes in Stone Mountain.

May 10, approximately 6 p.m.: Police receive anonymous call reporting the body of Alexis Malone, 19, found on Agape Way in DeKalb. Malone may have been a witness to the May 3 incident.

May 10, approximately 11 p.m.: Armed men enter a home on To Lani Farm Road in Stone Mountain. Three women inside the home fled to an upstairs bathroom with a 9-month-old boy. The men pursued the women, shooting them as they tried to barricade themselves. The child was killed.

May 11, early morning: Kemontae Cullins, 18, was arrested in connection to the May 3 shooting.

This article originally appeared in The Champion Newspaper.