Two teens were seriously wounded and an Atlanta man is facing charges after an alleged attempt to steal a package turned violent.
Rakim Bradford, 34, was arrested last Thursday after turning himself in to police, according to a warrant for his arrest. He is facing felony charges of two counts of aggravated assault. When he surrendered, he had a firearm and was also charged with possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, the warrant states.
Police said the teenagers, ages 15 and 16, had said they planned to steal a package delivered to a home, but before they were able to take the package, someone inside the home started shooting through the door.
According to police, the 15-year-old was shot in the foot and the 16-year-old was shot in his right arm. The 16-year-old was in critical condition when he was taken to the hospital, but in an update, Atlanta police said he underwent surgery and is expected to survive. Police referred to the previously released statement in response to additional questions from NBC News on Tuesday.
In a 911 call, a neighbor reported hearing the shots and a boy coming to his home saying he had been shot. The caller said he helped the injured teen tie a shirt around his arm and apply pressure to the wound.
“He came over here, I gave him a shirt to tell him to wrap around his arm and put pressure on it,” the caller told the 911 dispatcher. “I just heard shots and I seen two boys running.”
Georgia has a “castle doctrine” law allowing use of force if a residence is forcibly entered or another felony is being committed inside the home.
According to the warrant, a co-worker and friend of Bradford said that Bradford called him and told him someone was shot at his home. The friend told police Bradford had said he was cleaning his firearm when he got a notification of a package at his door.
“When he went to retrieve the package, he opened the front door to find three males attempting to steal it,” the warrant states the friend told them.
Police said Bradford had left the home, but turned himself in to police a short time later. Police said they found shell casings outside the front door of his home.
