On Labor Day in Georgia, a tragic event occurred as Dante Lamar Daugherty, a 42-year-old father, left his two sons, ages 6 and 7, unattended in his parked car at a gas station.
What happened next was a tragedy that left a family in ruins and the surrounding community in disbelief.
Georgia Tragic Gas Station Shooting
Moments after Daugherty entered the Texaco gas station in Lithonia, leaving his loaded handgun in the car, a gunshot rang out. Officers from the DeKalb County Police Department responded to a distressing call around 6:30 p.m., reporting a child being shot at the gas station located 20 miles east of Atlanta.
Upon arrival, first responders found the 7-year-old victim inside the car with a single gunshot wound to the head. Tragically, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His 6-year-old brother, who was also in the car at the time of the incident, escaped in a panic and ran towards a busy intersection.
Surveillance footage from the gas station revealed the sequence of events, capturing Daugherty parking his car and leaving with both children.
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A Father’s Heartbreaking Discovery
Shortly afterward, the children reentered the car while Daugherty went into the store. During his absence, the younger child opened the passenger-side back door and fled in distress.
When Daugherty returned to the vehicle, he found his older son with a gunshot wound to the head. Police described him as frantic and distraught upon their arrival. Local residents expressed their grief and disbelief over the tragedy. One resident said, “It’s ridiculous that a child had to lose his life like this for a father to learn a hard lesson.”
Records reveal Daugherty’s previous legal troubles, including guilty pleas to charges of battery against a family member and disorderly conduct in 2015, resulting in 24 months of probation. In 2007, he pleaded to one misdemeanor count of loitering for drugs and received six months of probation.
As this heart-wrenching case unfolds, it serves as a stark reminder of the importance of responsible firearm ownership and child safety.
The consequences of neglecting these responsibilities have left a family in mourning and a father facing serious charges, illustrating the tragic and irreversible impact of such choices.
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