An ex-Marine was shot and killed early Friday after surprising three masked intruders trying to break into his DeKalb County home, the victim’s family and police said.
Officers responded to the deadly home invasion about 6 a.m. in the 500 block of Mountain Oaks Parkway near Stone Mountain, DeKalb police Officer Shiera Campbell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The 47-year-old homeowner, identified as Phillip Lamar Davis, heard a noise, left the house to investigate and was ambushed in his garage, authorities said.
Daphne Sinclair, his sister-in-law, said Davis was trying to take his wife to work at the time of the shooting.
Her sister and Davis were high school sweethearts who married one year ago, Sinclair said.
“I just know my sister loved her husband,” she said.
Sinclair, who moved to the same neighborhood as the couple, was at work at a local hospital when her sister called her after running to a neighbor’s house.
“She (was) screaming,” Sinclair said. “She said, ‘They won’t let me see my husband.’”
At that point, Sinclair went to the scene and learned Davis was dead. He was in the process of remodeling the couple’s house, Sinclair said.
“We don’t have that much family left,” she said. “And this is all we have.”
The intruders are still at large. Officers used police dogs to try to track their scents to determine which direction they left.
Police described the area as quiet.
“Not much happens here,” Campbell said. “They have a very strong homeowner’s association.”
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