Teen faces murder charge in Buckhead shooting

An Atlanta teenager is dead and his 17-year-old accomplice faces a murder charge after an auto break-in led to an exchange of gunfire Friday afternoon outside a busy Buckhead shopping plaza, authorities said.

The double shooting happened about 4 p.m. when a man returned to the parking lot of the Peachtree Battle shopping center and found someone inside his Jeep SUV, police said.

Police said the two teens were breaking into the car when the vehicle’s owner came out of a store and confronted them. That confrontation escalated to gunfire, and both suspects were shot, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Timothy Peek said. Authorities have not said who fired first.

Dontavious Cobb, 19, of Atlanta was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. His alleged accomplice, 17-yearold Coby Senior, was wounded but managed to run away. Police believe Senior may have fired his gun at the SUV’s owner as he fled.

He was later located at Treehouse Restaurant and Pub in Atlanta’s Peachtree Hills neighborhood about a half-mile away, Peek told reporters at the scene. He was taken to the hospital with a single gunshot wound. The vehicle’s owner was detained for questioning after the shooting but has not been charged, authorities said.

On Saturday, Atlanta police said Senior faces a felony murder charge in connection with Cobb’s death.