Mother of teen gunned down in front of DeKalb County food mart: 'It was a random act'

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County police say a 18-year-old man was shot and killed in the parking lot of a gas station and strip mall along Snapfinger Woods Drive on Tuesday evening.

A large section of the parking lot directly in front of the Shell gas station and adjoining businesses located in the 5000 block of Snapfinger Woods Drive near Acuity Way was surrounded by police tape well into the evening.

Officers were seen combing over the scene for evidence. A car was later seen being towed from the scene.

Investigators say just before 6 p.m., the young man walked out of the Shell food mart and was shot. He died due to his injuries before officers could arrive.

Cadedra Bryant says the young man was her son, Aker Mohammed.

"It was a random act. Someone walked up to him and I guess they thought he might have had a gun in his pocket and tried to rob him for a gun," Bryant said.

Investigators spent the evening talking to possible witnesses and scoring over surveillance video trying to piece together a timeline, identify a suspect, and possibly get a motive behind the shooting.

No one has been taken into custody regarding the deadly shooting, police say.

His mother says she has a lot to say about gun violence.

"Ignorant people with guns do ignorant things," Bryant said. "When you got people with ignorant minds and no direction in life, how could you have any care for somebody else’s life?"

She says her son had been working as a valet while he finished up an apprenticeship program to be an electrician. She says he graduated from Miller Grove High School last year.

"Overall, he was a good kid trying to prove himself to me and his father," she said.

She hopes to have a broader conversation with community leaders about how to prevent such acts in the future.

The DeKalb County Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating.