A man who told Atlanta police that his girlfriend shot herself Thursday morning has now been charged with her murder, officials said.

Dontavious Wright, 38, pulled into a BP gas station on Cleveland Avenue at around 12:30 a.m. and flagged down officers, according to police. They said they found a woman in the SUV’s passenger seat with a gunshot wound to the head.

The woman, identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office as 42-year-old Vermeka Williams, died at the scene from her injuries.

Wright initially police that Williams shot herself as he was driving in the Browns Mill Park neighborhood. Police announced Thursday afternoon that Wright had been arrested.

“After further investigation, Atlanta police homicide detectives found probable cause to secure arrest warrants for Dontavious Wright for the charges of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime,” police said. “Wright was placed into custody and transported to the Fulton County jail without further incident.”

No details were released about a possible motive.

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In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC