6-year-old boy with stab wounds dies after apartment fire, Gwinnett police say

By Hope Dean

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    PEACHTREE CORNERS, Georgia (WANF) — Gwinnett County police are investigating the homicide of a young boy in Peachtree Corners Thursday morning, they said.

Just before 8 a.m., police and the fire department were called to 4900 Springs Lane, listed as an apartment complex called 3500 The Vine, in response to a fire. A resident on the upper level called when they heard a fire alarm coming from a unit on the ground floor.

“When I opened the door, the hallway started filling with black smoke,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified during the active homicide investigation.

Firefighters broke in to the unit and reportedly found two small fires and an unresponsive 6-year-old boy with multiple stab wounds. He was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where he later died, police said.

Around 9:15 a.m., police said they found a woman behind the building with no shoes and wet clothes. She was taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and will later be questioned, police said. She lived in the same unit as the boy and police said she may be related to him.

“The person of interest behind the building, we don’t’ believe she wanted to be found. It is possible she was hiding and we’re looking to see exactly where she was from the time the apartment fire was started until she was found,” said Sgt. Michele Pihera of the Gwinnett Police Department.

The victim’s name is being withheld pending next-of-kin notification, police said, while adding that “the motivation for this crime is still under investigation.”

“I pray justice is done to that child’s soul,” said the woman who originally called 911 in light of the fire.

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