The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the homicide of a 14-year-old girl who was shot and killed in her own home by suspected gang members in a driveby shooting.
The victim, Ta’shuntis Roberts, was in her home on Lindwood Drive at 6pm on Sunday, December 13, when a light-colored vehicle drove up to the residence and two men got out and shot at the house with pistols. Investigators have determined that Ta’shuntis had no gang affiliation and was not the intended target of this act of violence. Ta’shuntis paid the ultimate price in a gang fight that targeted her home. There are, however, members of her family who may or who may not have been home at the time of the shooting, who are suspected to be affiliated with a known street gang.
Investigators from the Violent Crimes Unit and the Gang Unit are relentlessly working to identify the shooters and take the perpetrators into custody.
Crime scene investigators recovered more than 25 shell casings from the scene. It should also be noted that a neighbor observed this and immediately came forward and informed deputies he returned fire with his own weapon.
Video evidence of the shooting has been captured and the attached is a still picture of the vehicle in question. The quality is grainy but we are looking for an older model, small, compact American-made car, possibly gray.
It has been determined that gang members are involved in this case but Ta’shuntis, was completely innocent, was the victim of a senseless crime. She was not the target of this shooting. Ta’shuntis was a freshman at Southwest High School, and she died later at the hospital from her wounds. It was determined she was shot at least five times.
Four hours after Ta’shuntis’s house was targeted, deputies responded to another driveby shooting. This one was on Alfred Drive at 11pm. Investigators believe this shooting is directly related to the first one. No one was injured but again, young children were home at the time and more than 25 shots were fired at the house. Bullets came very close to hitting a 13-year-old, an 8-year-old and an 8-month-old.
Investigators have very strong leads and are diligently following up on these leads.
Sheriff David Davis said: “We will find the perpetrators of these cowardly and reckless acts of needless violence. We cannot have our innocent children gunned down in their homes because grown men find it necessary to settle their petty differences with weapons. My heart goes out to Ta’shuntis’s mother who lost her child and who has been cooperating fully with investigators. I have all the confidence in the world in my investigators and know they are taking this as seriously as I am.”
The incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office at 478-751-7500, or can call Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.