“Stop the senseless violence:” Vigil held for 7-year-old killed by gunfire at family gathering

ATLANTA — On Tuesday night, more than 100 people showed up for a vigil to celebrate the life of a 7-year-old girl killed by gunfire.

Police said Ava Phillips was caught in the crossfire during an argument at a family gathering during a visit with her mother at Camden Vantage apartments in northeast Atlanta.

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Channel 2′s Veronica Griffin was at the vigil Tuesday, where apartment management allowed the family space to grieve and celebrate the young life cut short.

Dozens of balloons were released into the sky for the little girl Ava Phillips’s father will remember as his bossy little princess.

“That’s my baby. That’s my little girl. She was the boss man. She ran the show,” James Phillips said.

Police say she was shot after an argument at a gathering “escalated” to the point of exchanging gunfire.

The woman charged in connection with the murder is the young girl’s mother, according to police.

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Another suspect, Deshon Collins, is still on the run, police say.

“Stop the senseless violence, you know. My baby died over some crazy stuff. Because that really could have been avoided,” Phillips said.

Phillips said he was glad he and his daughter lived life to its fullest in the short amount of time she was alive.

“Glad I got to do what I did with her. We did a lot of traveling. We traveled to Cali, Mexico,” Phillips said. “I showed her a lot, man, before she was gone. Seven was young, but we did a lot.”

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