An Atlanta father of 20 was fatally shot last month while allegedly attempting an armed robbery, police say.
On July 19, D’Anthony Reaves, 44, was killed outside the Greyhound bus station on Forsyth Street around 5:30 a.m. He was shot twice in the face and once in the arm, according to police.
In a Wednesday update, Atlanta homicide detectives said their investigation determined the case should be classified as a felon killed by a private citizen. Police said Reaves was in the middle of an armed robbery when he was shot.
Reaves was shot by someone getting off a bus, his family told WSB-TV. The Independent has contacted Atlanta police for comment.
Reaves was a father to 12 biological children and eight stepchildren, ranging from ages 10 to 31. Ten of them attended his funeral at North Avenue Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta on August 2, which boasted a line of mourners stretching to the parking lot.
"Seeing everybody come out as one big community was really nice, and we really appreciate all the extra support because we’re gonna need it," Sha'Miracle Brown, one of Reaves' daughters, told Fox 5 Atlanta, adding that their father was well known across Atlanta communities.
"My dad was like a crazy dancer, but I will always remember the music standpoint. Because some of us make music, all of us are musically inclined, and some of us play instruments. So my dad passed that musical gene down to all of us," Brown said.
"He loved his kids. You could ask anyone, any single person, and they would say we were his pride and joy. I don’t think there’s a room we could walk into that he did not mention us or our accomplishments or our accolades."
Reaves’ family plans to start a foundation to support his children and help fathers leave the streets and rebuild their lives.
"We’re fixing to open up the D’Anthony Reaves foundation so we’ll be able to serve his kids so they’ll be taken care of," Deoinetea Hightower Reaves’ brother told the outlet. "We got the Power for the Fathers represented for him as well, where we help the fathers get off the street and get their lives back together."
Hightower added that he is pushing Greyhound to end its policy allowing guns across state lines and urging Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to tighten gun laws to keep firearms away from young people.
Further details about the shooting were not available.
