Decatur Teen Pleads Guilty to Shooting 11-Year-Old Outside Skating Rink

DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston announced a conviction by guilty plea in the case of a Decatur teenager who shot an 11-year-old boy in the head outside the Golden Glide Skating Rink.

On Monday, September 8, 2025, 17-year-old Cam’ron Mealing pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, two counts of Armed Robbery, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, and Possession of a Pistol or Revolver by a Person Under 18 Years Old. Mealing was 13 at the time of the shooting on April 9, 2022.

According to investigators, officers responded to Golden Glide around 11 p.m. after reports of a person shot. They found the 11-year-old victim unconscious in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head. The boy survived but continues to live with lasting physical and emotional effects.

Witnesses told police the victim had argued with someone in a black hoodie and red ski mask inside the rink. Surveillance video later showed the masked suspect chasing the victim through the parking lot and shooting him before fleeing to a nearby restaurant, where he robbed two people at gunpoint. He then left in a stolen vehicle.

Community tips after media coverage identified Mealing as the shooter. He was arrested on April 21, 2022, and has remained in a youth detention center since then. With the guilty plea, he will be transferred to an adult prison.

“This senseless shooting changed two young lives forever,” said DA Sherry Boston. “I am hopeful that the victim and his family can now move forward with closure knowing Defendant Mealing took responsibility for his actions and is being held accountable.”

Superior Court Judge Nora Polk sentenced Mealing to 15 years, with 7 years to serve in custody under a plea agreement with the State.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Ryan Patrick, with assistance from ADA Laura James, DA Supervising Investigator Christopher Hollowood, and Victim Advocate Mariana Salgado. Former DeKalb Police Detectives Jared Wheeler and Michael Shepard, now DA’s Office Investigators, led the original investigation.