Family demands justice after 18-year-old killed in northwest Atlanta

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Police investigate a deadly shooting of a teenager along Fairlock Lane NW in Atlanta on June 6, 2025. (FOX 5)

ATLANTA - An 18-year-old was found shot to death on Friday evening at a park in northwest Atlanta, authorities said.

What we know:

Officers with the Atlanta Police Department responded to a report of a person shot just at 489 Fairlock Lane NW at approximately 5:40 p.m., according to a statement from the Atlanta Police Department.

When officers arrived, they found a male victim who had sustained an apparent gunshot wound. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

What they're saying:

Casey Dantzler said his great-nephew was fatally shot multiple times during a barbecue at the park. The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I got a call that my great-nephew got shot a couple times," Dantzler said. "When I got to the scene, he was deceased. He was just 18 years old."

Dantzler said witnesses told him two men jumped out and opened fire. Families and children were present at the time.

"There were people barbecuing, children running around," Dantzler said. "The good thing is, those children didn’t get shot."

Overcome with emotion, Dantzler called on city and state officials to take responsibility for the ongoing violence.

"We need to clean this city up," he said. "We got the mayor, the governor, and the police chief. It’s time they do their job. They keep saying the crime rate is down — how can you say that when all we see is crime on TV every week?"

Police investigate a deadly shooting of a teenager along Fairlock Lane NW in Atlanta on June 6, 2025. (FOX 5)

He said parents now fear letting their children play outside, even in broad daylight.

"They feel like they can’t go anywhere without worrying," he said. "It’s summertime. Kids should be outside, getting fresh air. But when it gets hot, people get crazy."

Dantzler said he personally accompanies his grandchildren when they go out, saying he no longer trusts Atlanta’s streets the way he once did.

"Atlanta ain’t like it used to be," he said. "You got young people carrying guns."

The victim’s mother, Dantzler said, is devastated.

"She’s been grieving all day," he said. "All she wanted was for someone to get her son off the ground. He laid there for two hours."

Dantzler said the family wants justice and is pleading with the shooter to come forward.

"Whoever did it, you might as well turn yourself in," he said. "Face the consequences. Too many people are getting murdered."

He also repeated his call for action from public officials.

"We need to sit down at a roundtable," he said. "Mayor, governor, police chief — I’m willing to help. But somebody has to do something about all these people getting killed."

What we don't know:

No additional details about the victim or the circumstances of the shooting were immediately released. 

Police have not said whether any suspects have been identified.

As of now, no arrests have been announced in the case.