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'Good guy' killed in fight he wasn't part of
DeKalb County police say an innocent man was caught in the crossfire of a deadly shooting at a strip mall off of Flat Shoals Road. A friend of the victim's described him as a "nice guy" who was "killed for no reason."
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County police are investigating the deadly shooting in a parking lot on Flat Shoals Road in Atlanta.
They said just before 2:20 p.m., two parties were arguing over money when one began shooting at the other. A man who reportedly had nothing to do with the argument was shot.
He died at the scene.
DeKalb County resident Brian told FOX 5 Atlanta when he pulled up to his regular meeting that happened to take place just off of Flat Shoals Road, he was shocked to find out what happened.
"A good friend of mine just lost his life," he said.
FOX 5 Atlanta has opted to only use Brian’s first name because he said he and the victim attended addiction recovery meetings together at the Flat Shoals Road location.
"He was an innocent bystander, didn’t have anything to do with what was going on," Brian said. "He was a good guy. A good guy who lost his life today for nothing, no reason at all."
Witnesses told FOX 5 they heard several shots ring out.
"I’m not surprised by that, it always happens like that," said a man who only wanted to be identified by his first initial, C.
C. lives near the shooting scene, and said he always keeps his head on a swivel. He’s worried he could be caught in the middle of a shooting, like the victim.
"If they get to arguing in the store, Wal-mart, wherever, I just leave! Because somebody’s gonna pull out a gun and start shooting," C. said.
In fact, he told FOX 5 he even had a family member caught in the crossfire of a shooting in the very same parking lot as Saturday’s shooting.
"I had a family member, he was at work, went outside to smoke a cigarette or something and got shot. He wasn’t trying to break up a fight or nothing, he was just smoking. They rolled up in the parking lot and was shooting at somebody else, and he got shot in the stomach," C. said.
Luckily, he said his family member survived that shooting.
Officials are investigating the incident as a homicide.
One suspect, 45-year-old Kendrick Williams, has been arrested and charged with murder.
The Source: The preliminary information has been provided by the DeKalb County Police Department. Updates based on original reporting were provided by FOX 5 Atlanta's Eric Mock.