Atlanta police are investigating two shootings in southeast Atlanta on Thursday morning that left two men dead.
The killings bring the total number of homicides this year to 101, which is two more than the city recorded in all of 2019, according to the department.
The latest took place early Thursday at the Little Bear Food Mart on Jonesboro Road. Authorities said 32-year-old Chiurazzi Bailey was shot in the chest after coming out of the business shortly before 5:30 a.m. He was dead when police arrived.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
“The investigation revealed that the victim exited the business when an unknown suspect approached and shot the victim then went through the victim’s pockets,” Atlanta police spokesman Officer Steve Avery said. “The suspect fled in a black sedan."
No suspects are in custody, Capt. Jason Smith told AJC.com from the scene.
“We are reviewing all the evidence, which suggests this was not a random act,” he said.
Police need the public’s help finding the black sedan, the driver and an individual seen in surveillance footage exiting the rear passenger side of the vehicle.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
It was the second fatal shooting police investigated in southeast Atlanta overnight, and the third for the city in as many days.
A man was found about 11 p.m. Wednesday with multiple gunshot wounds outside the Edgewood Court Apartments in the 1500 block of Hardee Street. He died at the scene and was later identified by police as 40-year-old Joseph Benjamin of Social Circle.
“Investigators are actively working to determine the circumstances around this incident,” Avery said.
On Tuesday, 40-year-old William Montague became the 99th victim of a homicide in Atlanta this year. He was shot three times in his chest about 6:45 p.m. Monday at a convenience store across the street from the police department’s headquarters on Peachtree Street.
Montague was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died one day later.
A suspect has been arrested in that case. According to Avery, officers responding to the scene Monday night saw a man running away. He was detained, and the gun he was carrying was confiscated.
He was identified by police as Robert Louis Wilson, 22. Wilson was arrested on a charge of felony murder and taken to the Fulton County Jail.
A motive behind that deadly shooting was not released.
Anyone with information in the the deaths of Bailey and Benjamin is asked to contact police at 404-546-4235. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
