Alton Park drive-by shooting leaves children motherless

Staff Photo by John Rawlston Family members of Monica McMillon, killed inside her Alton Park home when someone shot at her house from the street on Tuesday night, gather in the home of her mother Brenda McMillon, second from right, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Sitting with her are the victim's sister, Amanda Crowder, left, and two of the victim's three children, Matthew McMillon, left, and Malik Jones. Staff Photo by John Rawlston Family members of Monica McMillon, killed inside her Alton Park home when someone shot at her house from the street on Tuesday night, gather in the home of her mother Brenda McMillon, second from right, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Sitting with her are the victim's sister, Amanda Crowder, left, and two of the victim's three children, Matthew McMillon, left, and Malik Jones.

By Tyler Jett November 26, 2015 5 min read

Malik Jones had just started watching a movie with his little brother and sister Tuesday night when they heard a staccato downstairs.

The floor of their second-floor bedroom in Alton Park shook. Jones wondered what commotion had erupted between his mother and a man downstairs. But the staccato continued to ring, the floor continued to shake. Ten, 20 seconds. He realized that someone opened fire. But who?

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Monica McMillon

Jones, 16, locked the door. He turned off the lights. He told his siblings – 6-year-old Tatiana and 3-year-old Matthew – to move away from the window, to lean against the closet.

The gunfire ceased. The house fell quiet, save for the sounds of “Annie” on the TV. A few seconds later, and Jones was unlocking the door, and telling his siblings to stay in the room, and running downstairs. He was wondering if the shooter was waiting for him, and if he could sneak his brother and sister away from their Highland Avenue home.

Then he got to the kitchen, where he found his mother.