Atlanta rapper 21 Savage and his family are mourning the loss of his teenage nephew, who died by suicide after accidentally shooting his sister at their Georgia home.
How the family tragedy unfolded, leaving one sibling dead and another hospitalized
According to the family, Seven Shirley, 14, accidentally shot his 12-year-old sister Lyric in the neck on Wednesday afternoon before taking his own life, TMZ reported.
Police responded to reports of gunfire at the family’s Stockbridge home and found a boy and a girl with gunshot wounds inside.
Authorities reported that Shirley was found with a gunshot wound and showed no signs of life. Lyric was transported to the hospital for emergency treatment for a gunshot wound to the neck, according to TMZ.
Seven Shirley’s grandmother speaks on their relationship: ‘There wasn’t nothing in this world he wouldn’t do for me.’
Seven’s grandmother, Sharon Smith, stated that the accidental shooting may have led him to take his own life.
“Just that fast that boy had made the decision to kill himself,” Smith told 11 Alive. “He probably sat up there and thought, ‘I’m finna go to jail, they’re going to ridicule me, everybody is going to be doing this and that and this, and this and that, and he couldn’t take it.'”
Smith added that she has raised Seven since he was 11 months old.
“His grandmama, there wasn’t nothing in this world he wouldn’t do for me,” she said. “He would say, ‘Grandmama sit down in this chair right here,’ and he would push me wherever. I’d be so glad because I’d be hurting so bad. He’d push me wherever I wanted to go.”
When asked how Seven obtained the firearm, Smith said the family does not know and is still searching for answers.
“We don’t know. We don’t know,” she said. “Something needs to be done about that person who sold that gun because if he would have never bought that gun, this would have never happened.”
Update on Lyric Shirley’s condition and the family’s statement
Meanwhile, Lyric has undergone three surgeries on her neck and vocal cords. It is not yet known when she will be able to return home.
21 Savage shared a photo of young Seven in his Instagram Stories, writing, “I remember when you were a baby” with red heart emojis.
In a statement, the family requested privacy as they prepare for Seven’s “homegoing celebration” and emphasized the importance of gun regulation for children.
“As our family grieves, we are asking our community to stand with us in another way. Please help us get these guns off our streets. Far too many young lives are being taken by senseless gun violence. We must work together to stop the illegal sale and access of firearms to minors and do everything we can to protect our children,” they wrote, according to 11 Alive.