New details from a Clayton County police report about Thursday’s deadly shooting at an O’Reilly Auto Parts store reveal that police believe the man who was killed punched his alleged shooter in the face before shots were fired.
Willie Heath III, 25, was taken to the hospital after being struck in the leg at the auto parts store near Riverdale, Clayton police said in a news release. Heath later died at the hospital and the suspect, 26-year-old Raheem Titre, was charged with murder, among several other counts.
According to the report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, multiple witnesses told responding officers that Heath threatened Titre during an argument and then punched him in the face as the disagreement escalated. The report confirmed Titre was an employee at a different O’Reilly location who was making a delivery to the store on Ga. 85 where the shooting took place.
The report did not say what started the argument between Heath and Titre, but said the store’s manager and another customer witnessed the dispute. The customer told police he was speaking with Titre when Heath began making threats. Titre left the store and came back inside shortly after, rejoining the argument, the report said. Before the disagreement turned physical, the store manager tried to separate Titre and Heath.
After the punch, Titre pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot Heath inside the store, the report said. Heath ran outside and Titre followed him, firing additional shots, according to the report. Police did not say how many shots were fired.
Titre originally fled the scene but returned during the investigation, the report said. Officers took him into custody on counts of aggravated assault, reckless conduct and second-degree criminal damage to property. After Heath died at the hospital, Titre was also charged with malice murder.
Titre remains in the Clayton County Jail without bond.
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