Atlanta man charged after shooting two suspected porch pirates in front of his house

An Atlanta man has been charged with aggravated assault after police say he opened fire on two teenagers suspected of attempting to steal packages from outside his home.

Rakim Bradford is accused of shooting a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old outside his townhouse in a neighborhood southwest of downtown Atlanta on Thursday. Police said Bradford was inside his home when he noticed the teens near his front porch.

According to an arrest warrant, the teenagers had followed a delivery van into the neighborhood, according to Atlanta News First.

“After the packages were dropped, they agreed to steal that package from the front of the residence,” Bradford’s arrest warrant stated.

Bradford confronted the teens as they were allegedly attempting to steal the packages and then fired his weapon. The 15-year-old was shot in the right foot. The 16-year-old was shot in the right arm and was transported to the hospital in critical condition, where he underwent surgery. Authorities said he is expected to survive.

“We believe a property crime was occurring, that some packages were being taken off a front porch, which is common this time of year,” said Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum. “The homeowner did discharge his weapon to stop that theft of packages.”

Bradford was detained after the shooting and taken in for questioning. He has since been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The teenagers were not charged with any crimes.

“The Atlanta Police Department takes gun violence very seriously,” Schierbaum added. “Anytime a child is injured in our city, we really take that really seriously. We want to make sure they know what’s happening.”