In the fall of 2018, a tragedy unfolded in a Southwest Atlanta apartment complex that cut short the lives of a young woman and her unborn child. Sanja Star Harrison, a 14-year-old female, was looking forward to becoming a mother. She was eight months pregnant and expecting a baby girl around the New Year. On the evening of Monday, November 19, 2018, while babysitting her young nephews at the Pavilion Place Apartments, a single gunshot changed everything.
A bullet fired from an apartment
directly overhead pierced through the ceiling and struck the eighth-grader in the head, killing her and her unborn baby instantly. At the time of the incident, Harrison was in the living room with her sister, preparing to watch a movie. The unexpected violence plunged her family into a state of profound grief. Her mother, Sonja Denise Harrison, lamented the loss of not only her daughter but also her grandchild, stating, 'They took away two lives from me.'
The investigation into the senseless deaths quickly focused on the apartment from which the fatal shot was fired. Within days, Atlanta police arrested 20-year-old Souleymane Diallo in connection with the shooting. He was subsequently booked into the Fulton County Jail. Diallo faced a series of serious charges, including second-degree murder for the death of Sanja Star Harrison and feticide for causing the death of her unborn child. Additional charges included reckless conduct and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Reports revealed that Diallo had a prior criminal record and had been released from jail just a month before the shooting. The young victim's mother clarified that, contrary to some speculation, Diallo was not the father of her unborn child.
