Two shootings a mile apart left two people dead in DeKalb County on Wednesday night, according to police.
The first shooting took place at a Chevron at 7046 Covington Highway just before 9:30 p.m., a news release states. There, officers found an 18-year-old identified as Charles Payne with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Clayton County Police Department later confirmed Payne was suspected of shooting a Clayton police officer and a robbery victim in March.
Multiple shell casings found at the scene suggested more than one person was firing shots in the parking lot, police said.
Police on Friday asked for the public’s help to identify three men who may be connected to the shooting. Investigators shared photos of the three, all considered persons of interest, on social media.
The three men fled the scene before officers arrived, police said. They are wanted for questioning and are not considered suspects.
Around the same time the 18-year-old was killed, officers were called to a second shooting, this time in a neighborhood just over a mile away in the 6300 block of Stablewood Way. When they got there, they found another man, 24-year-old Alejandro Cain, of Lithonia, dead from a gunshot wound, the news release states.
Investigators said it is not known at this time whether the two incidents are connected. No other details were released by authorities Thursday.
Anyone with information about either case is asked to contact the Dekalb County homicide assault unit at 770-724-7850 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477).
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