Atmore police investigating 16-year-old’s killing; boyfriend says he accidentally shot her in car

Atmore police investigating 16-year-old’s killing; boyfriend says he accidentally shot her in car

Police continue to investigate the killing of a 16-year-old teenage girl Monday night in Atmore.

Sgt. Darrell McMann told AL.com on Thursday that the alleged gunman in the shooting claims that he shot and killed his girlfriend on accident.

The girl, identified as Janyia Wilson, was a sophomore volleyball player at Escambia County High School.

The shooting occurred sometime before 10 p.m. inside a vehicle at a stop sign on Carver Avenue. The alleged gunman, a juvenile under age 16, was sitting behind Wilson, who was the driver.

McMann said that authorities are “still trying to tie things together” and was unsure on whether anyone else was inside the vehicle at the time.

“According to (the shooter), he was sitting behind her and it was a mistake that he shot her in the back,” McMann said. Wilson was taken to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead.