On a tragic Easter Sunday in 2018, the life of 3-year-old T'Rhigi Diggs was cut short by a single stray bullet in Atlanta, Georgia. The young male was riding in the backseat of his mother's car near the intersection of Eastland and Bouldercrest roads when the fatal incident occurred. His mother, Roshonda Craig, was driving when she found herself and her son caught in the crossfire of a dispute that had started with paintball guns.
The evening's events began to unfold around 11:30 p.m.
near a Texaco gas station. A group of individuals in several cars was driving by, shooting paintballs at people at the station. This act was reportedly part of a social media trend encouraged by local hip-hop artists to use paintball guns instead of real firearms. One of the individuals struck by a paintball was 15-year-old Christopher Cullins. In retaliation, Cullins grabbed a real handgun from a cousin's car and fired once in the direction of the vehicles that were shooting the paintballs.
The bullet fired by Cullins missed its intended targets. Instead, it pierced the rear door of Roshonda Craig's car, which was stopped at the nearby intersection, and struck her son T'Rhigi in the chest as he slept in his car seat. The child was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries. The senselessness of the act left his parents and the community devastated.
DeKalb County police launched an investigation, utilizing surveillance footage from the gas station and witness interviews to piece together the events of that night. Their efforts led them to identify Christopher Cullins as the shooter. Ten days after the shooting, on April 11, 2018, police arrested the 15-year-old and initially charged him with murder.
In April 2022, Christopher Cullins, then 19, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. During the court proceedings, T'Rhigi's mother expressed her forgiveness towards Cullins but also her dissatisfaction with the length of the sentence. Cullins was sentenced to 13 years in prison, to be followed by seven years of probation for his role in the death of the young boy.
