The lifeless body of 13-year-old Derron Woody lay sprawled in front of a door on Glenwood Road, blood trickling from his mouth, as panic and disbelief swept through the scene. It was Thursday afternoon, around 4:30 p.m., in the 4800 block of this busy DeKalb County street when police arrived to find the boy suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite the urgency of their response and the desperate rush to a nearby hospital, Derron could not be saved. His death has left a family shattered, a school in mourning, and a community grappling with yet another tragedy involving a child caught in the crosshairs of violence.
Derrick Woody, Derron’s father, was at work when his world unraveled. A frantic phone call delivered the gut-wrenching news that his son had been shot. “They said he was laying in front of the door,” Derrick recalled in a voice heavy with grief during an interview with local media. “I asked, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ And they said, ‘He’s not getting up, he’s not moving. He’s bleeding from the mouth.’” The words landed like a hammer, each one stripping away the normalcy of a day that would never be ordinary again. Derrick struggled to articulate the pain of losing his son, a boy he described as gentle and full of love. “Just hard to think about it right now, you know,” he said, his voice breaking. “I loved my son. He loved everybody. He wasn’t no bad boy.”
Derron was a former student at DeKalb Alternative School, an institution designed to support young people facing challenges in traditional educational settings. Beyond the classroom, he was a typical teenager with a passion that lit up his free time: video games. His family affectionately called him the “ultimate gamer,” a title earned through countless hours spent mastering his PlayStation 5. Those who knew him paint a picture of a child who brought joy to those around him, a stark contrast to the violence that stole him away.
The details of what led to the fatal shooting remain murky. Police have confirmed that the incident stemmed from an after-school fight, but the precise trigger—whether a fleeting argument or a deeper conflict—has yet to be disclosed. What is known is that another middle school student was taken into custody for questioning shortly after the incident. As of Friday afternoon, no charges have been filed, and investigators are painstakingly piecing together the sequence of events that escalated into gunfire. The lack of immediate answers only deepens the anguish for Derron’s loved ones and a community desperate for clarity.
In the aftermath, DeKalb Alternative School has become a place of collective sorrow. Principal Terrence Harvey addressed the tragedy in a letter to families, confirming Derron’s passing and extending the school’s sympathies. A crisis intervention team was deployed on Friday to offer grief counseling, a small but vital lifeline for students and staff wrestling with the loss of one of their own. The school, located not far from where the shooting occurred, now stands as a somber reminder of how quickly a child’s potential can be extinguished.
Derron’s family, reeling from their loss, has turned to the public for help. They’ve launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral costs, a burden no parent should have to bear under such circumstances. The outpouring of support from strangers and neighbors alike reflects a shared desire to ease their pain, even if only slightly, during this unbearable time.
As the investigation presses forward, authorities are calling on anyone with information to step up. Tips can be submitted anonymously through the Tip411 app by texting “DKPD” to 847411, a plea that underscores the urgency of finding justice for Derron. For now, the 4800 block of Glenwood Road remains etched in the minds of those who knew him—a place where a boy’s laughter once rang out, silenced forever by a single, irreversible moment. The community mourns not just the loss of Derron Woody, but the innocence that vanishes with every such tragedy, leaving behind a void that words alone cannot fill.