Easter day is a symbolic representation of the victory of Life over death, but for some criminals, even that is not a break from their dreadful crimes. An unfortunate event of this sort took place this Easter Sunday in Atlanta when a 3-year-old boy was shot in the head while he was in the care of a babysitter. The child was taken to the hospital, but he could not survive the wound and ended up losing his life. The police have now started the investigation, and some progress has been made.
According to People, on Easter Sunday, per an Atlanta Police Department release, the authorities received an emergency call, and when they reached the place, they found a child who had apparently suffered a gunshot. The police reported that the child was rushed to the hospital, but the paramedic staff pronounced him dead. CBS Atlanta reported that the child who died from the alleged gunshot is named Armani Deshawn Lyons. As per the Atlanta News First (WANF) and Fox 5 Atlanta, the child was with his babysitter named Barbara Edwards, at the time of the shooting.
Mother of Armani is devastated by the sudden and unlawful demise of her child; she showed her emotion in the statement saying, “I’m not gonna see him again. No more laughing. No more playing. No more nothing.” per Atlanta News First. There’s also a GoFundMe for funeral expenses, saying, “Our hearts are completely broken… Armani was full of life, joy, and innocence.” It also reads, “He was only 3 years old and would have been turning 4 on May 3.”
Homicide investigators have taken the babysitter into custody for investigation
Homicide investigators have taken Barbara Edwards into custody after getting her arrest warrants. She is not the only one on the police’s wanted list for this crime. A person named Jermaine Hardeman has also been nominated for involvement in the crime, as reported by the police department. Both suspects are charged with felony murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and cruelty to children in the second degree.
Hardeman is on the run and has not yet been arrested. The reason for carrying out a heinous crime like this is still not clear, and police have not released details because the investigation is still ongoing. Following a 17-year-old boy being shot by a man in revenge, this is another shooting incident that involves a poor kid.
We have heard about a reckless nurse abusing a toddler. Luckily, the toddler in that case was alright, but these incidents, including this shooting, raise questions about whom to believe for the safety of the children, especially for families in which both parents work to keep things rolling. Even though the details of why this happened are unclear, whatever the reason, the loss of this 3-year-old kid has shaken all of us.
Published: Apr 16, 2026 01:00 pm