UNION CITY, Ga. — Police were back out at a Union City apartment complex looking for a possible body Tuesday night after a picture surfaced on social media.
The officers were searching just steps away from where a teen was fatally shot on Sunday.
Investigators told Channel 2's Carl Willis the leads pushed them to search around Banneker High School and the woods bordering the Oakley Shoals apartment complex.
Earlier in the day, Union City police announced the arrest of Jaquan Perry, 17. They said he mishandled a gun inside an apartment when it went off, shooting the victim in the chest.
Detectives have not identified the victim because they say the case is not closed, even though they have identified the alleged shooter.
Union City police arrested Perry Monday for involuntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm during a crime and reckless conduct.
Police say he was handling a gun at the Landings at Oak Hill apartments on Flat Shoals Road when it went off and hit another teenager.
According to police, the victim was visiting with friends in the apartment complex.
"It's becoming the norm, the everyday norm. There are children that are dying in the streets," said neighbor Derek Waters.
The shooting death came one day after another 15-year-old was killed in a drive-by shooting 1 mile away.
Langston Hughes High School student Amira Cameron was visiting with friends at the Oakley Shoals apartments when witnesses saw a suspicious vehicle, according to her father. He says Cameron was wearing headphones and couldn't hear warnings to get to safety.
"I'm a combat veteran and it's just sad that after you've been put in a hellish situation that you come back home and the community that you live in, somebody won't even get to see their 18th birthday now. It's gone," Waters said.
As Channel 2's Carl Willis was preparing for his report on the most recent shooting on Channel 2 Action News at 5, he was approached by two teens asking for help. The teens told him they saw a suspicious vehicle and asked Willis to call police to escort them to their apartment. They said they didn't want to be the next to get shot.
"Something has to give and we as the men of this community and as the parents have to take control of the streets and get these young people back in line," Water said.
Later in the evening, Channel 2 Action News received tips from concerned neighbors. When Willis went to the complex to look into the tip, he saw police officers searching the wood line around the Oakley Shoals apartment complex, just steps away from where a memorial now stands to honor Amira Cameron.
"I've never experienced anything like that. It was very emotional. Two parents just lost their child," neighbor Sarah Smith said.
Now, police continue to investigate if there is a third victim in just as many days.
"It definitely makes me want to double lock my doors," Smith said.
WSBTV
