It was Ernest Thompson’s first time in Atlanta last Halloween.
He had saved up vacation time and made the drive from Jacksonville, Florida, with his brother and friend for the weekend. Before leaving home, he had dropped off his daughter, now 3, at day care. He would not see her again.
Thompson, 29, was killed in a shooting on Halloween night outside Aurum Lounge on Peachtree Place, the second shooting that month at the now-shuttered nightclub. No arrests have been made, and Atlanta police are renewing calls for tips that could help them crack the case.
One year later, his family can still remember the final time they spoke to him that night. Around 6 p.m., Thompson and his brother Marcus Mitchell parked outside Lenox Square and bragged about the shiny, red convertible Camaro they rented to cruise around the city, their cousin Chaunterria Jourdain told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via phone from Jacksonville.
Three hours later, Thompson’s mother, Tonga Hicks, received a call that would change her entire life.
“Ernest has been shot,” she said through tears, remembering Mitchell’s exact words from that call.
The evening had taken the brothers into Midtown, where Thompson waited with the Camaro at the lounge and Mitchell ran across the street into a Publix to use the ATM, Hicks said. A friend, in a separate car, parked at a different location and also went into Publix. Hicks said Mitchell heard gunfire outside, and when he returned to the Camaro he saw his brother had been shot while sitting in the passenger seat.
Police believe a red vehicle may have been following Thompson and Mitchell’s Camaro or the friend’s Altima prior to the shooting, and they are looking into the possibility someone from the red vehicle fired the shots that killed Thompson. Authorities have released a photo of the car and are asking anyone with information about its driver to come forward.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
At the time of that fateful phone call, Mitchell told Hicks that Thompson was just in pain and was going to be fine. Hicks said she could hear her son moaning in the background. She immediately gathered up the family and hurriedly drove to Atlanta.
“We thought he was just gonna be at the hospital for us to pick him up,” she said.
Thompson died soon after arriving at the hospital. When the family returned to Jacksonville, everything had changed.
“His daughter is always saying ‘Dada’ every time she sees him on one of our necklaces, she looks up at the sky and says ‘Dada,’” Jourdain said.
In remembrance of Thompson, Mitchell put together a basketball tournament for the family to get together. The inspiration for the event: Thompson was known to play pickup games in parks around Jacksonville with his now 9-year-old son. He was known by everyone and would spend his days sharing his skills with them, Thompson’s aunt Chauntrell Knox explained.
“Everyone reached out (when he died) because it didn’t happen in (Jacksonville), everyone knew he was going out of town,” Jourdain said. “He was on vacation, so to find out that he was killed in another state, it was tragic for everybody.”
The family hopes to hold the tournament every year and eventually expand it into a foundation that raises money to help children who have lost their fathers to gun violence.
Despite living out of state, Knox said she has been in contact with Atlanta police nonstop since the killing in hopes of one day getting justice for her nephew. The family plans to come to Atlanta by the end of the year to hold a candlelight vigil where Thompson was shot, just as they did last December.
“He was taken away in a senseless crime,” Knox said. “It was hard and it still is to this day. I cry so much.”
Credit: Family Photo
Credit: Family Photo
Anyone with information on Thompson’s death is asked to contact Atlanta police. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
About the Author
