17-year-old barbershop owner killed in shootout outside his business, Georgia cops say
A community is mourning a 17-year-old barber shot and killed outside the Atlanta-area business he co-owned with his mother, multiple news outlets report.
Anthony “China” McClain was killed on Saturday, April 2, when relatives said he became caught in the crossfire of a shootout that erupted outside Da Barbers Lab barbershop in College Park, Georgia, according to WXIA.
McClain’s mother, Norma Huff, said they ran the shop together and that her son had recently earned his barber’s license.
“I haven’t shed a tear yet,” Huff told the news station. “It’s very hard, but I always taught my kids with every life, there’s death.”
The incident was reported around 4:15 p.m. in the 5400 block of River Station Boulevard, WGCL reported, citing Clayton County police. A man had been shot in the parking lot, authorities said, and died at the scene.
The victim, who family members identified as McClain, was standing outside the barbershop when someone began shooting, a witness told WSB-TV. The other person shot back, striking McClain. His cousin, LaShawn Hood, said she believes the gunfire stemmed from an argument that started in the shop and spilled into the parking lot.
The Clayton County Police Department has released few details about the incident as of April 4 but said it is investigating.
“Due to the sensitivity of the investigation, we are not releasing information at this time,” a department spokesperson told McClatchy News in a statement.
Family and friends remembered McClain as loving, family-oriented and “very motivated,” WGCL reported.
“Like this morning, he went and worked out this morning at the gym and came to work, and now, he’s no longer with us due to gun violence,” Hood told the news station. “He was a very helpful child, loved his parents, loved his brothers and just, very motivated and just a good kid.”
Huff recalled getting the phone call that “something tragic” had happened at the barbershop, according to WSB-TV. She said she thinks Anthony stepped outside to call and warn her about the commotion when he was shot.
“I’m almost 99% sure that he went outside ... to tell me that something was going on,” Huff told the news station.
The teen’s family said it is shocked by what happened and is working to pick up the pieces.
College Park is about 10 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 11:20 AM.