15-year-old in critical condition after being shot at DeKalb County playground

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A 15-year-old boy is in critical condition after he was shot on Thursday morning.

DeKalb County police officers responded to Rainbow Creek Drive where they found the teenage boy suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to the hospital.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Channel 2′s Tom Jones was at the community playground where police say the shooting happened.

Witnesses told him that they jumped into action to save the teen and performed CPR until paramedics arrived.

People who saw all the police in the Rainbow Creek neighborhood say police and violence are not something they’re accustomed to dealing with.

“This is a nice neighborhood. It’s very quiet,” said Zenise Ward.

That peace and quietness was punctured when a neighbor says she heard a loud noise. A woman who asked us not to show her face says her mother saw kids hanging out at the community playground. Then she heard a loud pop before noon on Rainbow Creek Drive.

“She thought it was fireworks. But she was like, ‘Who’s doing fireworks this early?’” she described.

TRENDING STORIES:

One woman told Jones that the victim was her brother’s best friend. She says her mother heard kids at the playground screaming for help.

“So she ran over here to do CPR on my little brother’s friend. She tried to help him,” she said. Another neighbor also performed CPR.

Police say the teen got into a dispute with the gunman and was shot.

“It just be so much crazy stuff. You can’t even go play basketball now,” one woman said.

The woman who tried to help the teen says his mother arrived at the scene and was distraught. She also said they kept calling 911 and the phone kept hanging up.

Neighbors say last they heard the child was in surgery.

Police say the child is in critical condition.

There is no word on possible suspects or motives.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]