Family of man killed in home invasion says he was trying to protect his siblings

A home invasion at a Decatur apartment left a 24-year-old man dead Thursday morning, DeKalb County police said.

Police said several people were inside the home at Abbey Road Condominiums during the invasion. The man was found with several gunshot wounds inside the apartment, spokesman Sgt. Lynn Shuler said.

The victim’s family identified him as Jeremy Riley. His mother told officers three people broke into her home on Abbeywood Road off Columbia Drive, Channel 2 Action News reported.

When officers arrived, they found no sign of forced entry, according to the news station.

Jeremy Riley

The woman jumped into a car and chased the group out of the complex to get a tag number, police told Channel 2 from the scene. She later crashed into a median wall just west of Gresham Road on I-20.

Darius Brown, who said he is Riley’s cousin, told AJC.com the man was killed while trying to protect his family.

“I don’t see how this happened to him at all,” Brown said.

Brown said several of Riley’s family members, including his younger siblings, were in the apartment at the time.

“His little brother was involved, his little sister was there,” Brown said. “The whole family was there. He put himself in the lion’s den to protect his family. That’s what he did. And it cost him.”