Two adults and a juvenile were jailed after a late-night traffic stop miles from the scene.
STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — A Sunday evening dispute outside a gas station on North Stone Mountain Lithonia Road ended with gunfire coursing into traffic, striking a 3-year-old boy strapped into a car seat shortly before 7 p.m., police said. Within four hours, DeKalb County officers stopped a suspect vehicle on Memorial Drive and arrested three people.
County leaders said the boy and his father were bystanders in a busy corridor where shoppers and commuters often stack up at the light. Detectives recovered surveillance footage from the business and tapped the county’s camera network to track a car seen leaving the scene. By Monday, officials identified two adult suspects, outlined the technology that guided the search and confirmed a residential search that yielded a firearm. The child remained in critical condition, and authorities declined to release his name pending family decisions on medical updates.
Police said the conflict began as a verbal exchange among several people near the pumps before shots were fired toward the street. The father’s vehicle, caught in traffic near a McDonald’s, was hit by rounds, one of which struck the child’s seat. “This child was an innocent victim,” Police Chief Greg Padrick said, calling the episode “reckless, senseless and completely unacceptable.” Officers spotted the suspect vehicle hours later near North Hairston Road and conducted a stop without incident. At a home on Rock Meadow Drive, investigators said they seized a gun and other items that will be tested as potential evidence.
The adults arrested were identified as 20-year-old Jonathon Tate and 21-year-old Julius Hughes. A third suspect, a juvenile, was not named because of age. All remained in custody on charges including aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The father was uninjured. County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said families should not face gunfire while driving through commercial districts on a weekend evening, adding that her office is supporting police as they review video and interview witnesses. Officials did not say how many firearms were discharged or whether the gun recovered matched shell casings from the scene.
Investigators credited two recent measures for the quick turnaround. The first is a 2023 ordinance that requires gas and convenience stores flagged as higher risk to maintain surveillance systems. The second is Digital Shield, an $18.9 million expansion of automated license plate readers and cameras that feed a Real Time Crime Center. Police said those tools have helped clear multiple cases in the past month, including homicides, by pinpointing suspect vehicles across the county. The corridor where the shooting occurred links neighborhoods east of Atlanta and often carries heavy evening traffic in unincorporated DeKalb.
Detectives are continuing interviews and canvassing for additional footage from nearby businesses and homes. Prosecutors will review reports and determine whether to add charges connected directly to the child’s injuries. Initial court appearances for the adult suspects could come this week, while the juvenile’s case will proceed separately in youth court. Ballistics from the Rock Meadow Drive search will be compared with casings collected at the gas station. Authorities also plan to release updates from the hospital if the family agrees, and said they are still working to identify all parties present when the dispute began.
By early Tuesday, the gas station had reopened to regular customers, with only stray police tape and shuttered pumps hinting at the violence. Drivers who pass the intersection daily described the scene as chaotic on Sunday. “There were cars everywhere, and then we heard four or five shots,” said Marcus Allen, who lives nearby. Outside police headquarters, Cochran-Johnson said the focus remains on the child. “Our thoughts are with the family,” she said, emphasizing that investigators moved swiftly to make arrests.
As of Tuesday, the boy remained in critical condition and three suspects were in jail as detectives pressed forward with interviews, video analysis and lab testing. Court scheduling updates are expected later this week.
Author note: Last updated January 6, 2026.