Clayton County deputy nearly shoots child during eviction notice, mom says
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - A mother told FOX 5 her son was hit with bullet fragments when a Clayton County deputy serving an eviction notice suddenly fired his weapon.
The mom shared a video of the incident recorded by her Ring camera.
It appeared to show the official knocking on the door of the Riverdale home and trying the doorknob. It's not clear how long he had been standing there before the recording began. The deputy can be heard saying he's from the Clayton County Sheriff's Office.
Six seconds later, a 13-year-old boy opened the door slightly and a black dog ran out onto the porch where the official was standing.
The deputy can be heard yelling "Get your dog!" then the sound of gunfire.
As the official can be seen reaching for his weapon, two different people from inside the house can be seen trying to grab the dog. One of those people, who the mom identified as her son, ran after the dog as the official fired the gun.
After the teen grabs his dog and puts him inside the house, the deputy can be heard saying "Y'all alright? Kid are you OK?"
Both the dog and the child immediately ran back inside the house. The official appeared to hang back and call for help.
Mylasia Hunnicutt was at work when she got the call from her son about what had happened. She raced home and saw several patrol cars in front of the house. She also saw a gouge out of the concrete in front of her door where the bullet hit.
She says she was initially told her son was hit by pieces of the concrete. She rushed her son to the hospital and learned otherwise.
"They had done the X-ray and saw the bullet fragments," said Hunnicutt.
Hunnicut says their dog, Coco, also had a bullet fragment in her abdomen and a graze on her knee.
"She did not jump on the cop, she did not bite the cop, she did not bark at the cop. What if he would have killed my dog and my son?" said Hunnicutt.
Hunnicutt says her son is very frightened and doesn't even want to talk about the gunfire.
She says she just cannot understand the deputy's reaction.
"I guess they need better training for officers because if you're that scared as a cop of a dog, and you open fire on a dog and a child, you might not need to be an officer," said Hunnicutt.
FOX 5 contacted the Clayton County Sheriff's Office for an interview or statement concerning what happened, but have not yet received a response.
