Kaila King

A woman intent on shooting a car with a couple inside instead fired the gun in her home and then at a car with a toddler inside, according to Athens Police.

In a statement Monday, APD Capt. Trevor Harris said police were contacted by Athens-Limestone Hospital at 5:18 p.m. Friday to report a victim with a gunshot wound in their emergency room.

“Officers went to the hospital and learned the victim was driving south on Vine Street when the shooting occurred,” Harris said. “The shooting victim said she had an adult female passenger in the front seat and a toddler riding in the back seat of her car on the passenger side.”

The victim heard the gunshot shortly after turning on Vine Street, he said. After realizing she had been shot, she drove to a safe location to pull over and swap seats with the passenger, who then drove her to the ER.

An investigation on Vine Street led officers and detectives to 22-year-old Kaila Makenzee King, who was renting a home on the street. According to Harris, detectives found shell casings and other evidence but were temporarily called away from the scene when another burst of gunfire erupted about 100 yards away.

“An intoxicated woman was quickly located and detained for what was later determined to be an unrelated incident,” Harris said. “Officers resumed their investigation into the first shooting and located two AR-15 pistols inside King’s home.”

The weapons were loaded with ammunition that matched casings found outside the home, Harris said. The next day, Detective Kelly Fussell interviewed King, who said she had been in an ongoing dispute with a couple.

Harris said King told Fussell she grabbed her pistols, accidentally fired one inside her home, then waited outside for the couple’s car to drive by. He said King admitted she didn’t know there was a car in front of her target.

“King said she fired both guns into the first car that came into view,” Harris said.

One bullet entered the driver’s door and hit the victim twice. Another hit the back door and “narrowly missed the other adult passenger and toddler,” he said. Additional bullets flew past the car and hit an unoccupied residence on the other side of the road.

Harris said the victim’s injuries were “serious but not life-threatening.” King was arrested Saturday on one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit/debit card. The latter charges are related to an earlier crime, Harris said.

Rodgers Street

Shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, APD received a call about a third shooting, this time in the 1700 block of Rodgers Street. When officers arrived, they found a residence with “at least 20 bullet holes in it,” Harris said.

“One of the rounds went completely through the home and exited the back,” he said. “Two residents inside the residence at the time of the shooting were miraculously unharmed.”

He said officers recovered “dozens of shell casings and projectiles” from the home and surrounding property.

“Neither the occupants of the car shot on Vine Street nor the occupants in the home shot up on Rodgers Street had any involvement in these shootings,” Harris said. “Fortunately, no one was killed during any of the violent crimes Friday evening.”

Anyone with information on any of the shootings is encouraged to contact APD at 256-233-8700. The cases remain open, and detectives are continuing to investigate and collect witness statements.