The man shot and killed inside his car was a Morehouse College student, the school’s president said Friday.
Joseph Gibbs, 23, of Atlanta, died Thursday night while inside his car near the intersection of Parsons and Webster streets, according to police. A passenger in the car, whose name was not released, was shot in the hand.
Investigators believe the two men were targeted by their assailant.
“This was not a random incident,” said Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones.
Officers arrived around 6:30 p.m. to find Gibbs slumped dead behind the wheel of a vehicle that had crashed, not far from the Atlanta University Center. Gibbs had been shot multiple times.
A passenger, whose name was not released, was shot in the hand and is in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital, Jones said. Witnesses told police it appeared a third occupant jumped out of the car and and fled on foot. It’s unclear whether he sustained any significant injuries, Jones said.
Morehouse President John Wilson notified the campus about the death in a message posted on the college's website.
“Under any circumstance, the loss of a young life is difficult to accept,” Wilson said in the message. “But tragedies such as this demand that more be done to ensure the safety of our students.”
Police are saying little about the suspect, who fired multiple times into the victim’s vehicle before speeding away in a separate car. Additional details are being withheld to protect the “integrity of the investigation,” Jones said.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.
— Christian Boone contributed to this report.
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