SENSELESS

8-Year-Old Boy Killed in Alabama Mall Shooting

The boy was shot in the head while waiting to get into Children’s Place with his family.

An 8-year-old boy was killed in a shooting at an Alabama mall on Friday afternoon, and several others were injured. The boy, Royta, was shot in the head while waiting to get into Children’s Place with his mother, step-father, and siblings. Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis confirmed that the boy died, and said a girl and two adults were hospitalized. Police say they are still investigating and do not yet know the cause of the shooting or how many people were involved. The mall, Riverchase Galleria, has been the site of several other high-profile shootings in recent years. In 2018, Emantic Fitzgerald “EJ” Bradford Jr. was shot and killed by a police officer who had been responding to reports of a shooting on Thanksgiving, launching a wave of protests.