Police seek 'person of interest' in downtown Athens murder
ATHENS, Ga - Athens-Clarke County Police released surveillance video on Thursday of a man investigators want to speak to about a murder in downtown Athens over the weekend. Police believe the man may have witnessed something which may help them solve this deadly crime.
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According to investigators, officers responded to the intersection of North Jackson Street and Hancock Avenue after reports of shots fired around 2:40 a.m. Saturday. When police arrived, they discovered Daniel Macias, 28, dead after he was shot multiple times.
Investigators have reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance video near the area. They said Thursday that they had already interviewed other people about the crime, but have not yet been able to identify the man seen in the footage walking toward the intersection where the shooting happened. He was described as a white man wearing all black.
“We're asking folks if you saw something or you were there and you have not talked to the police yet, to say something, call us,” said Lt. Mike Tyndell, of the robbery and homicide unit. “See something, say something. Give us a call. Give us an opportunity to hear anything that you, that other people may have seen or heard in the area.”
This murder has shaken the area to its core. Safety officials held a town hall meeting Wednesday night to address the first murder in the downtown area since 2003.
“This homicide is important to this police department. It is important to this entire community,” Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Scott Freeman told the crowd.
Investigators said they are not sure where Macias was headed at the time of the shooting.
“He was downtown, we don't know a lot of the details of where he was coming from, where he was going,” Chief Freeman said. “We feel very confident that this is not a random act like a robbery or anything like that. This is something that was very specific to these two individuals and we just have to figure out what that is.”
Concerned residents at the town hall meeting directed questions to police leadership about if they could increase patrols and utilize social media to update the public.
“It's shocking, it's jarring that something like that can happen in any community in general and our community specifically,” said Shawn Butcher, who operates a restaurant in downtown Athens.
After Wednesday's town hall, friends lit candles at a memorial set up near the crime scene. Some drove from Alpharetta where they said Macias graduated from Chattahoochee High School in 2006.
“Everyone wants justice because he's such a lovable guy no one can really say anything negative about him,” said Andrew Ke, a high school friend of the victim's.
Friends said Macias worked at Agua Linda, a Mexican Restaurant in Athens and was widely liked around the downtown area.
“This person needs to be taken off of the street,” said Erin Lahey, one of Macias's friends. “Athens is an incredible town we bring incredible people here.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 706-705-4775. Tipsters can remain anonymous.