Police in Atlanta are continuing to investigate the shocking murder of a 12-year-old boy as his family has revealed more about his activities the day he vanished.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, family members searching for 12-year-old David Mack found him dead with multiple gunshots wounds Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area behind residential Shirley Street, about a quarter mile from his home . His family had reported David missing the night before, when he did not return home from going to meet friends.
Emergency responders reportedly found the boy unconscious and unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds, and was confirmed deceased by paramedics. An Atlanta Police Department spokesperson said on Friday that the homicide remains an active investigation. No suspects or persons of interest have been identified.
CrimeOnline obtained a missing persons report that includes new details about the circumstances of David’s disappearance. His grandmother, who lives with David, called police at 8:43 p.m. Tuesday to report him missing when he did not return home as expected. An officer or officers responded to her home at 1o:43 p.m., when she told them that David had been by himself at the home at around 3 p.m. when he called her to say he was going to a friend’s house. When she returned home at about 3:45, David was not there, as he had presumably left to visit his friend. She told police that it was unusual for David to not return home.
The officer who authored the missing persons report wrote that they canvassed the area for the missing boy, but did not find him. The report also states that multiple attempts were made to reach David on his cell phone, and that it went straight to voicemail. The grandmother reportedly gave police the first name of the friend that David had said he was meeting, but she did not have an exact address. A comment in the report suggests police did not immediately suspect David was in danger and believed he would likely return home, though the responding officer did advise the Georgia Crime Information Center to add him to their system as missing.
David Mack’s grandmother reportedly told WSV-TV that her grandson said he was planning to play football with friends, but it is unclear if or how many additional people may have been in the group besides the friend who lived in the house he was visiting. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the grandmother said she drove around the neighborhood looking for David when he did not return home for dinner, and called police when she could not find him.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, multiple people in the neighborhood reported hearing gunshots on Tuesday evening; one resident said she heard multiple shots at around 6 p.m. Police told local media on Wednesday that they had received conflicting reports about the timing of the gunshots. Police also said that an autopsy would likely help pinpoint David’s time of death.
The autopsy results have not yet been released. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.