He married four months ago, and Andre Slocum was thrilled to become a dad for the second time. The 25-year-old dreamed of one day playing football for the Atlanta Falcons, but instead had a short career playing semi-professional ball, his family said.
For three years, Slocum was a standout employee at Flexible Industrial Solutions on Fulton Industrial Boulevard, his younger sister, Ariel Longino, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But after arriving at work Tuesday morning, Slocum was shot multiple times and killed by a co-worker. Longino believes the shooter was jealous of her brother’s status as a full-time employee.
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“He targeted my brother,” Longino said Wednesday afternoon. “He bypassed everyone in the warehouse and went straight back to where my brother usually worked.”
Shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, a temporary employee walked into Industrial Solutions, said, ‘Good morning,’ and began firing shots, witnesses told police. Slocum was the only person injured and died at the scene.
Although Slocum’s family has suspicions, investigators may never know what prompted the man to shoot and kill Slocum. He isn’t alive to offer additional clues.
The alleged gunman, whose name has not been released, left the businesses after the shooting and drove west on I-20. Later Tuesday, he was also killed, dying in a single-vehicle crash about 100 miles away in Talladega County, Ala, according to police. An Alabama deputy coroner declined to release the man’s name Wednesday afternoon pending notification of family members.
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The Alabama State Patrol said the crash occurred on I-20 at mile marker 173, but also declined to release the driver’s name. Fulton County police said the investigation into the shooting continued Wednesday, but there were relatively few clues, Cpl. Maureen Smith said.
“The co-workers said they had no knowledge of any arguments or beefs between the two,” Smith said.
Longino said her family believes the shooter was angry he had not been hired to work full-time. But her brother didn’t deserve to be the victim.
“He helped everyone and he loved everyone,” she said. “He wouldn’t have hurt anyone. He was a great person.”
A 2010 graduate of Lithia Springs High School, Slocum won awards for his athletic ability. After playing for two semi-professional football teams in Georgia, he had a job he was good at it, Longino said. Slocum’s manager had told him he was the best worker he’d ever had.
“He was doing great with his life,” Longino said. “He had a happy family, everything. Everything was going good.”
Funeral arrangements were pending for Slocum late Wednesday.
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