Amanda Moore, a Spalding County Sheriff’s Office detention officer, sustained a gunshot wound to the head Wednesday afternoon in what officials describe as a domestic dispute. Moore’s 16-year-old daughter has been arrested in connection with the the shooting. Photo courtesy of the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office
SHEILA A. MATHEWS :::
The 16-year-old Griffin girl charged with shooting her mother, Amanda Moore, in the head may be tried as an adult.
The GRIP has confirmed reports that the juvenile allegedly shot her mother while she was sleeping.
According to Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix, the teenager has been charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, cruelty to children in the first degree and possession of a firearm by a minor.
After being arrested and interviewed by Spalding County Sheriff’s Office investigators Wednesday, the juvenile was transported to the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) in Clayton County.
She appeared for an arraignment hearing Thursday and order was issued that she continue to be held in the Metro RYDC. Additionally, Dix said his office has consulted with the Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office regarding the case.
“There was a hearing on her yesterday in Juvenile Court and they ordered her to be detained at Metro RYDC and she’s there now. We’ve consulted with the District Attorney’s Office and we’re going to try to have her bound over to Superior Court and tried as an adult,” Dix said.
Asked to update the victim’s condition, Dix said news is improving.
“The last I heard – I got an update last night around 9 o’clock – she’s breathing on her own. They had done some tests on her and last night during one of the tests they were running, they reduced some of her sedation and she was able to track the doctor’s hand with her eyes. There was going to be some more tests today. She is listed as stable, but she’s got a long road to recovery in front of her,” he said. “What we were updated with last night sounds really good. It’s really promising.”
Dix said he attributes Moore’s improving condition to her son and the family’s neighbors.
“Actually, the (suspect’s) little brother, when it happened, ran out of the house to the neighbor’s house and the next door neighbors…one of the neighbors, is a Spalding county firefighter and his wife is a nurse,” Dix said. “They saw the suspect walk down Ethridge Mill Road toward town, and as soon as she got clear, they went next door to the house, found Amanda lying in the bed and immediately rendered aid to her. They got on the phone with 911, gave a description of her (the suspect’s) clothing and the direction she was travelling and began working on Amanda. I feel comfortable saying that if it wasn’t for her son and the actions taken by her neighbors, Amanda wouldn’t have had a chance of survival.”
The juvenile suspect was apprehended walking down the road past the Coldwater Creek subdivision.
“She was not hiding in the bushes. She was just walking down the side of the road like anyone would.
Deputy Preston Fuller saw her and approached,” Dix said. “She didn’t say anything. She didn’t ask why she was being stopped or anything. She was just kind of stoic. When Preston told her to put her hands behind her back, she did. There was no emotion. She just walked over and was put into the back of the patrol car.”
She was not armed when taken into custody. Authorities say the weapon used in the shooting – a 9 mm handgun belonging to Moore – had been placed on a grill on the front porch.
Dix confirmed the firearm used was not Moore’s duty weapon; it was a personal weapon.
Dix said this incident took him back to a conversation held with Sgt. Larry Martin – Amanda Moore’s father who is also an SCSO employee – earlier Wednesday morning.
“We were talking about people we’ve loved and lost…and Larry said that morning when we were carrying on that conversation that you need to let the people you love know that you love them because you never know when they may be gone,” Dix said. “About 12 o’clock that day, Amanda met Larry and they ate lunch together at Tim’s, and literally three hours later, she was shot in the head.”
Dix then shared a piece of advice he gave his personnel in an email he sent following this incident.
“One of the things I put in there said, ‘Because of what we have chosen as our profession, we all need to remember that regardless of whether you are certified, sworn, or civilian, things can change rapidly and often for the worst. Make sure that your families and friends know that you love them, don’t leave anything unsaid, and don’t leave anything on the table that needs to be fixed.”