Father charged in shooting death of daughter due in court

Smith, 25, had briefly fled the scene when detectives arrived to investigate the shooting.

Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. Warren Pickard tells local news media that the incident occurred Saturday morning about a mile southeast of Turner Field.

Since mid-October, an 8-year-old and two 2-year-olds have been killed in Georgia after accidentally discharging loaded guns that were found in their homes.

Smith was arrested Sunday and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, according to Fulton County Jail records.

“Right now, my life is in shambles”, said Milling. It’s hard and it hurts.

Ja’Mecca’s mother, Kate Milling, said Smith is on medical watch because he’s grieving and depressed over the loss of his daughter.

“I know my baby was loved, my baby was loved and everybody showing love and I appreciate it cause I need it”, she said. The first-grade honor student was described by her family as an angel who loved the Disney film Frozen and enjoyed playing with her siblings.

The family has created a GoFundMe in hopes of covering funeral expenses.

At least four Georgia children have been killed in similar accidental shootings in just over a five-week period. They said several people besides the girl were inside the home, including her father, a teenager, and other small children.

“The fact that a child got a gun isn’t an accident, that’s negligence” Viviana Goldenberg, a member of the Georgia chapter of Moms Demand Action, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Clay’s death. Recent research from Everytown for Gun Safety reveal that there have been at least 246 unintentional child shootings in 2015 so far, an average of one in America every 32 hours.