Walking through downtown Atlanta on his way to a photo shoot on a chilly October morning, Siri Emereje ran into his father sitting in his white taxi cab.
They acknowledged each other with a quick nod and wave and then went about their day. That was the last time Siri Emereje saw Frederick Emereje alive.
On Feb. 15, the 72-year-old taxi driver was fatally shot outside an apartment complex near Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Hunnicutt Street about 4:45 a.m. Police believe Emereje was dropping off a passenger who then shot him and fled in his taxi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
It wasn’t until the day after the shooting that Siri, the oldest of Emereje’s three sons, learned that his father had died when a relative relayed the heartbreaking news.
“I was shell-shocked and surprised,” Siri told the AJC via phone Wednesday. “Your mind automatically hears gun and you fear the worst, like, ‘Please don’t let anybody be shot to death,’ you know?”
Emereje had been working as a taxi driver since about 2013. Siri, who works as a photographer in LaGrange, said his father never mentioned any previous unsettling experiences on the job. Working through his elder years, he had been trying to make as much money as he could.
Three days after the shooting, the white Toyota van that Emereje drove was found abandoned in a parking lot not far from the scene of the crime. The cab was impounded and combed over for evidence, Atlanta police Homicide Unit Commander Lt. Ralph Woolfolk said, which helped investigators identify Elibra Allen, 48, as a suspect.
Allen is facing charges of felony murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
“I never heard his name. I never knew that individual. I have seen the mug shot and the person just looks like they’re not in their right mind,” Siri said. “We’re hoping justice prevails and that he gets exactly what’s given to him and nothing less.”
A few days after the shooting, Siri passed near the apartment complex where his father was shot. It felt surreal. It hit Siri that, though that location would forever remind him of all he lost, it could have happened anywhere and at any time.
“Just like that, you can take somebody’s life and your life at the same time,” Siri said. “If you’re going to do that, be prepared to lose your own as well.”
Now working through funeral arrangements to honor Frederick one last time, Siri has had a few conversations with family members about how to avoid getting into situations like the one that took his father’s life.
“We just all came together jointly to just establish some ground rules if we ever get in a situation like that,” Siri said. “So just thinking critically and de-escalation or just avoiding those types of situations and areas that are notorious for that.”
But what has bothered Siri the most is that his father still had many moments left to enjoy, that he still had time to build a stronger connection with his family and share more memories.
“To the killer, I say, you robbed all of us of that opportunity,” he said.
About the Author
