A gunman is wanted after a deadly shooting investigation shut down all southbound lanes of I-675 in Clayton County for more than three hours Thursday morning.
A passenger in an SUV was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the area of Forest Parkway, according to Clayton County police. The victim, a 30-year-old man, was dead in the abandoned vehicle when officers arrived on the scene about 2:20 a.m.
Investigators believe there was some type of altercation that continued onto I-675 and ultimately ended in gunfire.
The interstate shooting investigation may be connected to another scene at an extended stay motel near I-285 in Forest Park, according to police in that city. When officers responded to the Home Lodge on Old Dixie Highway to investigate multiple reports of gunshots, they did not find any victims.
Witnesses described a “gun battle” in the parking lot, Forest Park police Sgt. Kelli Flanigan said.
Shortly after the man was found on I-675, another gunshot victim showed up at a nearby Emory Hospital location. The 24-year-old man had been shot multiple times to his lower limbs.
“At this time, detectives from our Criminal Investigations Division along with officers from the Clayton County Police Department are all working together to determine if these scenes are related,” Flanigan said. “No suspects have been taken into custody.”
All southbound lanes of I-675 were blocked while police and K-9 units searched for other occupants of the SUV. The lanes reopened just before 6 a.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
The deadly shooting was the first of two on metro Atlanta interstates Thursday. A woman was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in a vehicle on I-85, according to Gwinnett County police.
RELATED: Deadly shooting investigation ties up traffic on I-85
Detectives are still working to determine the circumstances surrounding her death, but it does not appear to be a suicide, a police spokeswoman said. Her body was found in the driver’s seat.
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