ATLANTA – An Atlanta mother is heartbroken after she said her daughter was shot outside on Christmas Eve.

Atlanta police responded to the shooting in the 1100 block of Smith Street SW in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta just after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. When officers arrived, they found 18-year-old Sekya Smith dead from a gunshot wound.

“She didn’t deserve this,” Brittany Harp, Smith’s mother, said through tears. “It’s pointless. I just want justice for my baby.”

Harp said Sekya is a senior at Carver High School in Atlanta and will graduate in May. After graduating, she said her daughter was accepted to Albany State to study criminal justice and play college basketball.

“Hold on to your children. Hold her tight. I wouldn’t wish this on any soul; I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” Harp said.

Harp said Sekya also played softball and ran track at Carver High School.

On Christmas Eve, Brittany said her teenage daughter was outside at a friend’s house, just down the street from her house, when she was shot.

“I knocked on the door that she had been shot in the chest,” Harp said.

Her mother said it was a drive-by shooting.

Atlanta police have not released any further details about the shooting or identified a suspect. Harp called the gunman and asked how they could take her daughter’s life and “sleep at night.”

“You’re a coward,” Harp said. “In every sense of the word, you are a coward.”

The Carver High School athletics page was posted on social media to remember Sekya and ask for prayers and support from the community.

Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, which operates the Carver STEAM Academy where Sekya was a senior, released the following statement Thursday evening:

The PBSA family is devastated by the tragic death of senior Sekya Smith. In addition to being an elite athlete and student, Smith was a valued friend and member of our Carver STEAM family. Everyone who knew Sekya loved her; She touched countless lives and will be forever missed. Carver STEAM will offer counseling to staff and students and is planning a memorial service in her honor.

The family has launched an online fundraiser to help with funeral costs. You can donate here.

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