UPDATE: Police ID woman shot in Gwinnett, driven to DeKalb gas station
Police have lots of questions after a woman shot in Gwinnett County was found dead Tuesday morning in a car at a gas station in neighboring DeKalb County.
The woman was fatally shot while riding in the vehicle somewhere in the area of Rockbridge and Five Forks Trickum roads, according to Gwinnett police Cpl. Wilbert Rundles.
She was identified by police as Avery Birthrong, 25, of Lilburn.
“We are still trying to determine the exact location and the exact time frame on that shooting," Rundles told AJC.com.
At some point, Birthrong was driven to the BP gas station a few miles away at the corner of Hugh Howell and Lilburn-Stone Mountain roads near Stone Mountain.
Two men in the car with her “were just looking for an open business to go to, or somewhere to meet with police safely,” Rundles said.
Birthrong was dead in a white Honda sedan when DeKalb County police officers arrived at the gas station about 4:20 a.m.
The BP station, which is in the Smoke Rise community, was closed for much of Tuesday morning while investigators conducted interviews and collected evidence.
“We're not sure what led to the shooting at this point,” Rundles said. “We're still looking into that.”
The driver of the Honda is cooperating with detectives, according to police.
“Anybody out there that has information that’s not currently on scene or hasn’t talked to us, we encourage them to call the Gwinnett County Police Department or call Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous,” he said.
Tipsters can be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000 by contacting Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting Crime Stoppers' website.
—Please return to AJC.com for updates.
About the Authors
Alyssa Pointer, a Georgia native and visual journalist for the newspaper, has been on staff since 2017. Every day Alyssa strives to create impactful images of the people and places within a community. She finds the most joy in working on long term narrative projects that focus on the intersectionality of race, class, culture, geography and gender.
