For a time Thursday morning before the sun came up, the body of a shooting victim lay unnoticed at the end of a driveway on a quiet, but well-traveled, Buckhead street.
Heather Baker and her 9-year-old daughter were the first to spot the man at dawn, and soon Peachtree Battle Avenue was flooded with uniformed officers, homicide detectives and all of their investigative equipment. None of the immediate neighbors knew the man, Atlanta police said Thursday, or how he came to be shot multiple times.
On Friday, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 57-year-old Christopher Eberhart. Public records list his last known address in Snellville, some 35 miles away from the West Peachtree Battle home where he was found dead.
His body was discovered about 7:30 a.m. at the end of a long driveway in the 1200 block, lying between two white pillars closed off by a chain. The home, Fulton County property records show, is part of a multi-property parcel owned by the next-door neighbor. It appeared to be vacant, Baker told police.
In audio of the 911 call released by police, Baker said the victim was wearing a white T-shirt, denim shorts and hiking boots. Another neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, said it appeared the man was a worker of some sort, but police could not find a logo or any other identifying information on his clothing.
Eberhart, according to state business records, owned a contracting company that installed awnings.
Baker told police she was standing with the home’s owner, and he thought he heard gunshots about thirty minutes before she spotted the body. Atlanta police have not said what motivated the shooting but confirmed it is being investigated as a homicide.
A police spokesperson declined to provide further updates Friday, citing the ongoing investigation.
In a public Facebook post, friend Stacy Hester Kitterman said Eberhart was truly one of a kind.
“He was so intelligent, and when having a conversation with you he made you think, and I mean really think,” she said. “He was hard working, kind, loving, a great father, son, brother, best friend, nephew, grandfather. You are going to be missed so much by so many!”
Baker said Thursday’s discovery was shocking in a neighborhood that seems to be safe. She didn’t know how many people passed by the wounded man while going about their morning routines, walking dogs or commuting to work. She and her daughter were on their way to school.
“The real tragedy for me is how many cars were just driving by and no one stopped,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
— Staff writer Jozsef Papp contributed to this article.
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