In an alarming incident, two teenagers were critically injured and a man from Atlanta now faces legal consequences after a botched package theft turned violent.
This all started when Rakim Bradford, aged 34, voluntarily surrendered to the authorities last Thursday. According to an arrest warrant, he’s been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, a felony. During his arrest, he was also found in possession of a firearm, leading to an additional charge connected to using a handgun in the commission of a felony.
The police reported that the teens, aged 15 and 16, intended to snatch a package from someone’s doorstep. However, before they could make off with the parcel, shots rang out from inside the house.
Initial reports indicate that the 15-year-old sustained a gunshot wound to his foot, while the 16-year-old took a bullet in his arm. The older boy was listed in critical condition upon arrival at the hospital but has since undergone surgery and is expected to recover, as confirmed by an update from the Atlanta police.
A neighbor, who heard the gunshots, recounted a frantic 911 call where a young boy arrived asking for help after he was shot. The neighbor stepped in to assist by providing a shirt to help stop the bleeding on the injured teen’s arm.
“He came running here, and I grabbed a shirt for him to wrap it around his arm and apply pressure,” the caller reported during the emergency call. “I heard the shots and then saw two boys fleeing the scene,” he mentioned.
Notably, Georgia has a law known as the “castle doctrine” which permits the use of force to protect one’s home from forced entry or other criminal acts.
In additional background, a colleague of Bradford mentioned that he received a call from him claiming someone had been shot at his residence. The friend informed police that Bradford had been cleaning his firearm and received an alert about a package delivery at his door. Upon stepping out to grab the package, he found three males attempting to steal it, according to what the friend conveyed.
Bradford reportedly left the scene but later turned himself in, at which point police located bullet casings outside his home.
This story was initially reported by NBCNews.com
