Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

As breath runs out, dying man tells DeKalb cop why he was shot

Kwesi Nicholls
Kwesi Nicholls
By Joshua Sharpe
June 29, 2017

The DeKalb County police officer summoned to the North Hairston Road Citgo station Saturday at 4 p.m. found a man facedown, bloodied.

“I’ve been shot,” the man said, according to a police report. “I’ve been shot.”

Kwesi Nicholls, a 42-year-old Stone Mountain resident, had been shot in the chest, evidenced by the blood pooling around him and soaking his shirt.

He would later die. But first his voice grew faint in between cries of pain. He could give the officer only scarce information about what happened and who did it.

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Finally, a weak announcement came from his lips, saying he’d been shot while trying to buy a firearm from someone. The suspect took $120 and left, he said.

Days later, police say they have made no arrests in the shooting, which happened at the corner of North Hairston Road and Central Drive outside Stone Mountain.

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The county hopes the cleaning will lead to fewer sewage spills and more money for the economy.

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