City leaders in Atlanta are seeing to make a change after another teen was killed. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Bre’Asia Powell, 16, was shot and killed at Benjamin E. Mays High School.
According to police, teens went to the school after leaving a graduation party that ended after midnight. Around 2:30 a.m., shots were fired injuring a teenage girl and boy. The girl, 16-year-old Breasia Powell, died of her injuries. The 16-year-old boy was taken to the hospital and is currently recovering.
On May 31, friends and family gathered to hold a vigil and release balloons in Powell’s honor at C.T. Martin Natatorium and Recreation Center. District 12 Atlanta City Councilman Antonio Lewis, who is Powell’s uncle, has called for the shooter to turn themselves in and also seeks a curfew for teens.
Councilwoman Keisha Waites, will reintroduce legislation at the next public safety meeting that will change the current curfew in Atlanta for youth ages 16 and under.
In February, Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners approved a 8 p.m. curfew for teens 16 and under. However, the ordinance only applied to one-and-a-half square miles of unincorporated Fulton County.
City leaders would likely add to that model.
Dickens, who graduated from Mays High School, responded to the incident.
“We are always heartbroken when someone loses their life especially the day school lets out, we are at my Alma Mater and my neighborhood,”Dickens said during the press conference. “A rising 11th grader lost her life as a rising junior at Grady Hospital. We’re calling against gun violence in our communities and for our young people to experience a fun summer.”
Dickens continued, “This morning, I spent some time talking to two families, and one whose child passed away. Those are phone calls we don’t like to have. My heart goes out to both families. To the young people, we want you to be safe where you spend your time and who you spend your time with quality decisions about life. Parents make sure you stay on top of where your children are.”
Powell planned to work in the city’s summer youth employment program.
