A man was shot and killed Friday morning as the result of yet another dispute that ended in gunfire in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood.
Atlanta police said they found the 37-year-old man wounded after being called to the area of Charleston Avenue shortly after 3 a.m., and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe the victim, whose name was not released, knew his killer.
“We are understanding there may have been a dispute leading up to it,” Capt. Jeff Childers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution from the scene. “That hasn’t been absolutely confirmed yet, but a dispute may have started at the gas station here on Cleveland Avenue and that continued over to Charleston.”
While no suspect is in custody, Childers said they think they have identified a person who was involved. Investigators were also speaking with a witness who may have captured the shooting on video, he said.
Police shut down multiple streets east of Lakewood Avenue while they investigated Friday morning.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
According to data from the police department, roughly 40% of the 54 homicide cases opened this year have been the result of disputes that escalated to violence. The same percentage was true of homicide cases at the midyear mark in 2022.
It has been a constant refrain for police leadership to implore Atlanta’s citizens to put down their weapons and resolve conflicts peacefully. The same message has been repeated from the outskirts of countless crime scenes, and a 2021 push on social media encouraged people to “think before you shoot.”
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
