A 23-year-old Gwinnett County man killed during a shooting at a Lilburn gas station last weekend died protecting his girlfriend, she told Channel 2 Action News.
Giovanni Segura died Saturday night following a shooting outside the Exxon on Lawrenceville Highway, police said.
RELATED: Gwinnett man killed in gas station shooting; suspect arrested
It’s still unclear what led to the shooting, but Maria DeJesus said her boyfriend threw himself on top of her as gunshots rang out, saving her life.
Police have charged 20-year-old Ulises Oliver Maldonado-Jimenez with felony murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the incident. He was taken into custody the following day at his Lawrenceville home, authorities said.
Questions linger about why Segura was killed, as investigators don’t believe he and Maldonado-Jimenez knew each other before the fatal confrontation, Channel 2 reported.
DeJesus said Maldonado-Jimenez tried repeatedly to get into their car, and that just before the shooting Segura got out to confront him.
“I started hearing the guy insulting my boyfriend,” she said Friday. “My boyfriend got mad and punched him in the face once and ran to the car and he told me to leave.”
Police said that’s when surveillance footage from the gas station showed Maldonado-Jimenez pull out a gun and begin firing, Channel 2 reported.
“I would have got shot as well but my boyfriend hugged me and took both bullets,” DeJesus said.
In other news:
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.