DeKalb County police aren’t sure who killed 74-year-old Melvin Cleveland or even why.
All they know right now was that it started with a wheelbarrow.
“We believe he saw a male walking across his front yard with a wheelbarrow,” Fore said. “He went outside to see what he was doing and was shot. We have no idea what transpired between the two that led to the shooting.”
Cleveland was shot to death in front of his home on Kings Park Way, Fore said. According to Channel 2 Action News, he’d stayed there for 40 years.
The alleged shooter left the wheelbarrow behind, Fore said. A caregiver heard the shots and immediately called 911, Channel 2 reported.
Witnesses told the station they saw the shooter leave wearing a dark hoodie and jeans.
Cleveland, a retired General Motors employee, had recently been diagnosed with dementia, but family said he was in clear mind to notice the alleged shooter, according to Channel 2.
“You don’t hear anything about people carrying guns in this neighborhood,” subdivision president Mike Young told the news station.
Cleveland’s death was one of two investigated by DeKalb police after 11:30 a.m.
About 11:35 a.m., police got a call about a 25-year-old woman found dead in a motel room on Snapfinger Park Drive, Fore said. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Authorities continue to investigate both deaths. Fore said the incidents are not connected.
Anyone with information regarding the deaths is asked to contact DeKalb police.
