Atlanta police found a van they believe was associated with the fatal shooting of a taxi driver outside a downtown Atlanta apartment building Tuesday.
The taxi vehicle was found Friday morning abandoned in a downtown Atlanta parking lot, police confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The taxi driver was fatally shot Tuesday morning in the area of Centennial Olympic Park Drive and Hunnicutt Street. Authorities arrived about 4:45 a.m. and rushed the man to a hospital, where he died. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 72-year-old Frederick Emereje, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Credit: Darrell E. Watkins Funeral Home
Credit: Darrell E. Watkins Funeral Home
On Thursday, Atlanta police Lt. Ralph Woolfolk said Emereje was driving a taxi when he entered the apartment complex with the suspect as a passenger. At some point, the suspect shot Emereje and left the scene in the taxi, Woolfolk said.
Investigators asked for help locating the abandoned taxi, a white Toyota van, on Thursday. Less than 24 hours later, they announced that the vehicle had been found in a parking lot on Trinity Avenue, about two miles from the homicide scene.
Emereje‘s family created a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses. He was remembered as a “determined father, a loyal brother and an amazing friend.” Emereje leaves behind three sons, siblings and countless friends.
“It is with great sorrow and heartbreak that we share the passing of our father,” a family member wrote on the page. “Our father was a victim of senseless gun violence that resulted in the loss of his life.”
Anyone with further information is asked to call 911, the Atlanta Police Homicide Unit at 404-546-4235 or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
