Police say 16-year-old Tianah Robinson was likely hit in crossfire after gunfire erupted following 404 Day gatherings in Atlanta.
ATLANTA, GA — A 16-year-old girl killed in a shooting at Piedmont Park after 404 Day celebrations was an “innocent bystander,” her father said Monday, as Atlanta police said the teen was likely not the intended target and announced a reward in the case.
Tianah Robinson’s death has become a flashpoint in Atlanta after a holiday weekend that also included other shootings involving children and teens. City leaders said investigators are reviewing cameras, license plate readers and cellphone video to identify the shooters, while Robinson’s family is demanding justice and asking why a public park filled with young people turned deadly.
Police said officers were sent to Piedmont Park at about 9:04 p.m. Saturday after reports of gunfire near the far west end of the park, more than an hour after a permitted 404 Day festival on the east side had ended at about 7:45 p.m. Officers found a 15-year-old girl shot in the shoulder and later found Robinson, 16, also wounded. She died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. Her father, Terrell Robinson, said his daughter had gone to the park with friends and was supposed to be picked up before dark. “She just was in the way,” he said in a television interview. “She was an innocent bystander.” Witness Atiyya Nadirah, who said she was packing up her booth from the festival, described a rush for cover as shots rang out and people ran through the park.
Investigators said the two teens did not know each other and were not involved in a dispute before the shooting. Police said they believe about four people, coming from different areas of the park, fired weapons. Assistant Chief Carven Tyus and Major Peter Malecki said detectives still do not know whether the shooters were aiming at a specific person or firing into the crowd. Italia Wilson, the 15-year-old who was hurt, was treated at Grady and later released to recover at home, according to city officials. Mayor Andre Dickens said Robinson lived in Clayton County and attended North Clayton High School. Her father said she loved being around family, babysitting and spending time with friends. Her mother, Tunisia Watkins, said the teenager was just beginning to enjoy high school and had looked forward to a camping trip planned for this week.
The shooting happened during one of Atlanta’s busiest spring weekends, with Easter, 404 Day events and spring break drawing large crowds into the city. City officials said Piedmont Park was one of 54 gatherings being monitored that day. The permitted festival at the park reached about 1,200 people at its peak, and officials said 11 sworn off-duty officers, 12 private security workers and two medics were assigned to that event. Police have said the shooting was tied instead to an unpermitted gathering on the opposite side of the park. Officials also said there is no evidence the crowd was part of the “teen takeovers” reported in recent weeks around metro Atlanta. Homicides inside Piedmont Park are uncommon. The park’s last widely known homicide before this case was the 2021 killing of Katie Janness and her dog near the 10th Street entrance, a case that remains unsolved.
By Monday, police had not announced any arrests. The city said a $15,000 Crime Stoppers reward is available for information leading to an arrest. Detectives are reviewing surveillance video from inside the park, surrounding businesses, cellphone recordings and license plate reader data, officials said. Dickens said there are now more security cameras in the park than there were several years ago, and he said the city will review police staffing and response times after the weekend violence. Robinson’s father said he wants an arrest, but he also wants changes before another large youth gathering returns to the park. He said entrances should be more tightly controlled and weapons should be kept out. Those steps have not been announced by police, and officials have not said whether security plans for future 404 Day events will change. They also have not publicly identified any suspects or said whether all of the shooters were juveniles.
Outside the investigation, the family’s grief has shaped much of the public response. Terrell Robinson said he had spent years working, providing for and loving his children, only to have that life shattered in an instant. “And now it’s just erased just like that,” he said. Watkins urged an end to gun violence, saying too many innocent people are being killed. Nadirah, the vendor who was at the park, said the city’s response should not stop at finding one person to blame. Earlier in the evening, she said, the atmosphere had felt festive. Later, she said, fireworks and then gunfire added to the confusion. By late Saturday, multiple entrances to Piedmont Park had been blocked off as officers searched the area with flashlights and at least one K-9 unit. Nearby sidewalks, bars and clubs remained crowded as investigators worked behind police tape.
The case remained unsolved Monday night, with police urging anyone who saw the shooting or recorded video to come forward as detectives work to identify the shooters and determine whether the gunfire was targeted or random. The next major milestone is an arrest announcement or a fuller police update on the evidence review.
Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.