A Clarkston man was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of shooting and killing his friend who he said had previously stabbed him, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.

Phun Kam, 36, was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in the 2021 shooting of 29-year-old Hrin Thawng.

On May 9 of that year, Thawng visited Kam at an apartment complex on Northern Avenue near Clarkston, according to prosecutors. Kam shot him “because Thawng had stabbed Kam several months earlier,” officials said.

In a news release announcing the conviction, authorities did not include details of why Thawng was at Kam’s home.

After opening fire, Kam called police, who arrested him after they found Thawng lying outside the front door with a gunshot wound to the head, prosecutors said.

The investigation revealed Kam fired seven shots, six of which were through the closed door of the apartment. Thawng was struck three times and later died at Grady Memorial Hospital.

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Orange Crush event organizer Steven Smalls looks out at Tybee Island's South Beach, site of the 2025 HBCU spring break festival scheduled for April 19 on Georgia's coast. (Justin Taylor/The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Credit: Justin Taylor for The Atlanta Journal Constitution