A 9-year-old boy was asleep in his bed. Until the shooting from outside his home ended his life.

A 9-year-old boy was asleep in his bed. Maybe he was dreaming about his future. Maybe it was a dream as simple as playing with his sister as did just hours earlier.

The dream ended when the child was shot and killed while in his bed. The cowardly act — as police described it — was random. Someone shot at the boy’s home, ended his life, caused grief for his family, and sent police to hunt for the killer.

Nigel Brown was killed on Aug. 9 and likely never knew what happened. Officers from the Albany Police Department in Georgia responded to a home on West Gordon Avenue for a reported shooting. Brown was shot in the head as he was asleep in his bed.

His mother found him.

A vehicle passing through the area opened fire on the home, police Chief Michael Persley said at a press conference streamed on social media. Investigators are looking at the possibility the attack was random.

But, Persley said what the department needed was information in the “cowardly” killing.

“I say cowardly because the loss of one life is too many,” Persley said. “But especially in this case. This was a senseless killing.”

Brown said they are calling on the public to provide information about the shooters so they can be brought to justice. The Albany Area Crimestoppers is offering a $5,000 reward in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call (229) 436-TIPS.

“I apologize for the actions of those who did this because they do not care about the people who live in the city,” Persley said.

Dougherty County District Attorney Gregory Edwards said Brown was simply asleep in his bed. He said officials would use the full power of police and the district attorney’s office to bring justice in the case.

“We need, in this community, to do all that we can to bring this matter to justice,” Edwards said.

The community protects its children, its elderly and its disabled, Edwards said. He pleaded with locals to help hold those who commit gun crimes accountable.

“This is a tragedy,” he said.