In the early morning hours of December 18, 2021, a quiet apartment in Atlanta's Peoplestown neighborhood became the scene of a targeted and tragic crime. Stanley Pratt, a 46-year-old male, was fatally shot in what police believe was a planned attack. The incident also claimed the life of 41-year-old Centeria Fields. The violence unfolded with a chilling precision, leaving a family shattered just a week before Christmas.
According to investigators, a lone gunman waited outside Pratt's
apartment on Tuskegee Street for approximately two hours. Around 7 a.m., as Pratt stepped out onto his front porch for a cigarette, the assailant approached and shot him in the face. Despite his grave injury, Pratt managed to retreat back inside the apartment and into a bedroom. The gunman followed him, opening fire again and killing both Pratt and Fields. The horror of the event was compounded by the fact that their 11-year-old son was asleep on the living room couch and a 6-year-old child was also in the home at the time.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the 11-year-old boy made a harrowing 911 call to report that his parents had been shot. In-home camera footage, later released by the Atlanta Police Department, captured parts of the horrifying sequence of events, showing the wounded Pratt running back into the apartment, followed closely by the suspect. The footage also shows the young son waking up to the sound of gunshots and fleeing the room. Investigators have stated they believe the perpetrator had 'intimate knowledge' of the apartment's layout and Pratt's morning routine.
As of the latest reports, no arrests have been made in the double homicide. The case remains an active investigation, with police and family members making public pleas for any information that could lead to the identification and capture of the suspect. Family members described Pratt as a loving father of seven who was making positive changes in his life at the time he was killed. They, along with law enforcement, continue to seek justice for the brutal murders of Stanley Pratt and Centeria Fields.
