In the summer of 2019, a tragedy unfolded in Athens, Georgia, that would claim the lives of a young mother and her unborn child, leaving a community in mourning. Auriel Briana Callaway, a 24-year-old Black woman, was at her home in the Clarke Garden apartments on the evening of July 22nd. A hardworking and devoted mother, she was attending Athens Technical College while holding down a full-time job. That night, a dispute that began among teenagers escalated into a chaotic brawl involving several young women, and the air was soon filled with the sound of gunfire.
As the violence erupted, Callaway’s first instinct was to protect her three-year-old son, Mason, who was by her side. She was attempting to rush him to the safety of their apartment when a stray bullet struck her. The 9mm bullet pierced her lungs and heart, and she collapsed in front of her young son. Bystanders rushed to her aid, performing CPR until authorities arrived just after 9:30 p.m. She was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to her injuries. Callaway was four months pregnant, and her unborn child also perished in the senseless act of violence. Investigators at the scene recovered over 80 shell casings, a testament to the intensity of the shootout.
The investigation into the death of Auriel Callaway led police to 27-year-old Kiresa Shanice Cooper. Witnesses identified Cooper as the shooter, and she was arrested two days later in Cobb County. Although Cooper denied intentionally shooting Callaway, a ballistics expert testified that the bullet recovered from Callaway’s body matched a gun belonging to Cooper. Text messages recovered from Cooper's phone, with phrases like 'I really think I'm going to jail' and 'I need to get away,' further implicated her. While several other individuals were arrested on various charges in connection with the events of that night, Cooper was identified as the one who fired the fatal shot.
In September 2021, Kiresa Shanice Cooper was convicted of malice murder and feticide. During the trial, Callaway's mother described her daughter as a dedicated mother who was working hard to build a future for her family. Cooper took the stand and denied her guilt, claiming she fired her gun in the air to break up the fighting. The jury found her guilty, and a judge sentenced her to two consecutive life sentences in prison, plus an additional ten years for possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime. Cooper later appealed her conviction, but the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the verdict, ensuring that she would be held accountable for the tragic and untimely death of Auriel Callaway and her unborn child.
