Toddler shot after he and his dad were followed from barbershop, Georgia cops say

A 2-year-old was shot and is in critical condition after a shooter followed him and his father after they left a barbershop, Georgia police said.

The toddler and his father left the barbershop in Atlanta at around 4 p.m. on Aug. 3, got into a car and started driving south on Peter Street, Atlanta Police Department Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said during a news conference.

Someone in a blue Kia Optima followed their car and pulled up to the passenger side when the father stopped at an intersection, Hampton said.

The shooter pulled out a gun and shot into the other car, hitting the child in the backseat.

The father then drove to a fire station, where paramedics took the child and brought him to a hospital, Hampton said.

The child is in critical condition but stable, Hampton said.

“Any gunshot injury to a child is concerning,” he said.

The driver of the Kia Optima kept driving down Peter Street after the shooting, according to officials.

Hampton called the shooting a “targeted incident.” A spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department wrote in an email that it appears the father was the target.

Investigators are still looking for the Kia Optima and are working to identify the shooter.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Atlanta police or to leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers.

This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Toddler shot after he and his dad were followed from barbershop, Georgia cops say."