Former Georgia HBCU basketball coach found shot to death in Atlanta

Samuel Jackson

A former Georgia HBCU basketball coach who went missing earlier this week was found dead in northwest Atlanta.

Homicide detectives with the Atlanta Police Department are investigating the death of 59-year-old Samuel Jackson.

Missing coach found dead in Atlanta

What we know:

Jackson, the former head basketball coach at Fort Valley State, was reported missing by his wife on Monday.

According to WXGA, Jill Jackson last spoke to her husband on Sunday night as he was preparing to start his job as an Uber Eats driver.

Deputies reportedly found Jackson's BMW at an apartment complex in Bonaire, Georgia. According to the investigation report, the car was unlocked and things had been "scattered over the seat and floor." Jackson was nowhere to be found.

Desmond Jackson, the missing man's son, told WGXA that he was able to use technology to track his dad to Atlanta. 

"His phone pinged in Atlanta, [law enforcement] weren't able to give exact details," he said. "Since then, I was able to get into his Gmail just to pull up his location history and it shows his phone; his Gmail, or his phone was there off Bolton Road." 

On Wednesday, the Atlanta Police Department said that it was asked by the Houston County Sheriff's Office to look into the possibility that Jackson was near the 2900 block of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

After canvassing the area, officers found a man who had been shot multiple times. The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to WGXA that Jackson was the victim.

What we don't know:

Details about Jackson's disappearance and death remain limited, and authorities are trying to trace how the missing man went from Peach County to Atlanta.

"Homicide detectives will be working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident," the Atlanta Police Department wrote in their release.

What you can do:

 The investigation is ongoing.

If you have any information that could help detectives, contact the Atlanta Police Department.

The Source: Information for this story came from a release by the Atlanta Police Department as well as additional reporting by WGXA's Leah Kincaid and Gloria Ruth Finney.

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