An Atmore teen was arrested February 27 by Atmore police and charged with the attempted murder of another teen who was critically injured in a drive-by shooting.
According to Escambia County Detention Center records, the shooter – De’Andre Lamar Mitchell, 17, of a Tumbling Lane address – is being held under $100,000 bond on one count of attempted murder. The nature of the crime resulted in the automatic charging of the suspect as an adult.
The bond carries a stipulation that Mitchell, if he is released, not have any contact with his victim. Also, if he is released on bond, the Atmore teen will be placed under house arrest, will be forced to wear a location monitor and will be prohibited from possessing a handgun.
According to published reports, the victim – identified as 17-year-old Trenton Atchison – was not Mitchell’s intended target. According to witness statements, the unlucky teen was among a group of people at a location in the 300 block of East Fourth Street when a vehicle drove by from which “five or six” shots were fired.
Mitchell, who remained in jail late Monday, was apparently shooting at another teen with whom he had earlier that day had an altercation.
APD Chief Chuck Brooks said officers were sent to Atmore Community Hospital around 4:08 p.m. after hospital staff notified authorities that a gunshot victim whose injuries were considered life threatening had been treated by emergency department personnel.
Police were told by attending physicians that the victim suffered a punctured lung from a bullet that also struck his spine and left him paralyzed. The wounded teen was conscious and able to identify the person who shot him before he was airlifted by medical evacuation helicopter to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Mitchell, a senior at Escambia County High School, later arrived at police headquarters in the company of his mother. He was interviewed by investigators who arrested him and charged him with attempt to commit murder.
Rumors of a retaliatory action against the intended victim reportedly led to a “heavy police presence” on the ECHS campus for two days and on the campus of Escambia County Middle School on the day after the shooting.