Decatur police need help identifying a gunman who shot into a car at a busy residential intersection, killing a 17-year-old girl and injuring her mother.
Authorities found two people shot in their car at the intersection of South Candler Street and Midway Road around 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. The girl, who was identified by police as Janae Owens, and her mother were taken to an area hospital, where Owens was pronounced dead. According to Channel 2 Action News, they recently moved from Shreveport, La., to metro Atlanta for a better life.
Investigators told the news station the gunfire was aimed at Owens’ mother, who was driving the car.
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The woman’s injuries are not considered life-threatening. Owens’ twin sister was sitting in the back seat and was not injured in the shooting, according to Channel 2.
Police think road rage could have fueled the gunfire, but Sgt. John Bender told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the motive is still unknown.
“The Decatur police Criminal Investigations Division and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are investigating the incident,” Bender said in a statement. “The incident is being investigated as a homicide.”
They are now searching for the shooter, a man possibly driving a black Chrysler 200 or 300. He was last seen traveling south on South Candler Street. A photo of the car was released Thursday.
Decatur police returned to the scene Thursday, around the same time of the deadly shooting. Officers stopped cars on South Candler Street and showed them the photo of car. It was not clear Friday morning if that yielded any leads.
Anyone with information in this case should contact the Decatur Police Department at 404-373-6551. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting crimestoppersatlanta.org.
