Police are investigating after a body was discovered Sunday night behind a southwest Atlanta day care center.

A passerby called police about 10:10 p.m. after spotting the man’s body lying behind the AllStarz Academy Day Care on Delowe Drive, according to an Atlanta police spokesman.

“On scene officers found a deceased adult male,” Officer Steve Avery said in a statement. “The victim appeared to have been shot.”

He was later identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office as 28-year-old Michael Denson of Atlanta.

It is the seventh homicide police have investigated within a 5-mile radius in southwest Atlanta since the beginning of the month. Four men were killed in three separate shootings Dec. 1 along Campbellton and Fairburn roads, and another was discovered dead Dec. 4 on Kimberly Road.

Earlier Sunday, a man was killed after an argument escalated to a shooting outside a Chevron station on Sylvan Road, according to police.

Investigators have said they do not believe the incidents are related.

We are working to learn more about the latest homicide.

— Please return to AJC.com for updates.

About the Author

Keep Reading

A witness who had been trying to help the ex-boyfriend get away from Latonya Tucker pulled out a gun of his own and shot back when she opened fire, officials said.

Credit: AJC File

Featured

Toi Cliatt, Trina Martin and her son, Gabe Watson, say they were traumatized when an FBI SWAT team raided their Atlanta home by mistake in 2017. (Courtesy of Institute for Justice)

Credit: Courtesy Institute for Justice