Trial begins in shooting death of 7-year-old in Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the trial is underway for a man accused of fatally shooting a 7-year-old girl who was riding in a car with her family after a day of Christmas shopping in Atlanta. Fulton County prosecutor Pat Dutcher said in his opening statement on Friday that Kennedy Maxie was struck by gunfire after the defendant, Daquan Reed, was robbed of his cellphone and money outside the Phipps Plaza mall in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood. Dutcher said an enraged Reed picked up a pistol and fired it from the rear passenger seat of a car. Reed’s attorney, Nicole Fegan, said though Kennedy’s death was “terrible,” her client was innocent.