A suspect fatally shot himself Tuesday after he allegedly opened fire on a man he tried to rob hours earlier at an appliance store in northeast Atlanta, according to authorities.
Shortly before 1 p.m., officers found the victim lying in front of Appliances 4 Less in the Lindridge-Martin Manor neighborhood right outside of Buckhead. He had been shot in the lower abdomen and arm and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, authorities stated.
“There was a car parked in the parking lot and a man standing outside of it got shot,” a witness stated in a 911 call about five minutes after the shooting. “He’s lying on the curb right now. He’s got blood coming from his abdomen.”
According to an incident report, the victim, of Orlando, Florida, told police he went to the location on Piedmont Road to purchase a phone from a man he met on Facebook Marketplace.
“He stated the suspect demanded the money from him, and the victim refused to comply and the suspect then fired a ‘pistol’ at him,” an officer wrote in the report. “The victim then walked to the storefront next door and began asking for help from the staff.”
The 911 caller said the suspect drove away and was last seen heading north on Piedmont Road.
After the shooting, the victim showed an officer the Facebook profile of the man, identified as Ontario Yancey of Griffin, according to the report. He told police the car Yancey was driving was a dark SUV. Atlanta police records later identified the vehicle as a 2011 Dodge Durango, which investigators said they determined had been in the area shortly before the initial 911 call.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Officers began searching for the vehicle, and it was flagged by Flock cameras in DeKalb County at one point. Atlanta police officers and Georgia State Patrol troopers eventually found it on Jonesboro Road near Midway Street in Clayton County. The area is about 12 miles south of the original crime scene.
Law enforcement approached the vehicle to initiate a traffic stop and discovered that the man “appeared to have sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” police said.
Yancey was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report. Police said the Durango was towed and submitted as evidence.
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