Pictured: The nine-month-old boy shot dead by masked gunmen in retaliation for a spate of murders outside Atlanta

Little Kendarius Edwards was killed when four gunmen broke into the house where he was living and opened fire

Police believe the masked shooters were looking for Cutrez Johnson and Oslushia Smith

Johnson, 16, and Smith, 19, are suspected in a May 3 murder of a 29-year-old man at a party

Police think the attack on Kendarius' home was retaliation

Tragic: Little Kendarius Edwards was killed Saturday when gunmen broke into his home and opened fire

A nine-month-old baby boy who was shot dead by four masked gunmen this weekend was a senseless victim in an escalating cycle of murders and shootings outside Atlanta, police say.

Little Kendarius Edwards was killed as his mother tried desperately to protect him when the killers kicked down the door of his DeKalb County, Georgia, home Saturday - looking to retaliate for a murder two weeks ago and the killing of a 19-year-old witness, detectives believe.



Detectives have now released the names of two teens who they believe are responsible for the murders that kicked off the spate of violence.

Cutrez Johnson, 16, aka 'Lil Red,' and Oslushla Smith, 19, aka 'Budda' or 'Boo' live at the house on Lani Farm Road where the boy was killed Saturday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.



They weren't home when the gunmen broke in - but Kendarius and three women, age 36, 23, were.



The shooters, all wearing black masks chased the women through the house. The victims tried to lock themselves in a bedroom, but their assailants kicked in the door.



Police say they sprayed the room with bullets. All three women were wounded, though the injuries were not life-threatening. The baby boy was killed.



Wanted: Cutrez Johnson, 16, aka 'Lil Red,' (left) and Oslushla Smith, 19, aka 'Budda' or 'Boo' (right) are responsible for a killing that kicked off the spate of violence that led to Kendarius' death



Neighbors left stuffed animals at the DeKalb County home where a nine-month-old boy was shot dead and three women were wounded

'It's insane, it's insane,' DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander told the AJC.



Detectives believe Johnson and Smith were responsible for shooting dead Michael Phillips, 29, at a party on May 3.



A third man, Kemontay Cullins, 18, was arrested Sunday in connection with that murder, as well.



On Saturday, five hours before the shooting, police got an anonymous tip that led them to the body of Alexis Malone, 19 - who was a witness to the May 3 shooting of Phillips.



Investigators say that the gunmen who killed little Kendarius were retaliating against Johnson and ~

Smith for the deaths of Phillips and Malone when they opened fire on the three women at the house on Lani Farm Road Saturday.



Police are also seeking a second witness to Phillips' murder, Kayla Dixon.



Detectives believe Kayla Dixon witnessed on the first murders in DeKalb County's chain of violence