A man killed near a Home Depot store in DeKalb County on Friday morning was taking a short cut through the woods to catch a ride to work, according to his stepfather, and police say the victim may have known his attacker.
Around 8 a.m., D’Monte Brown, 25, was taking his usual route from where he lived with his grandmother to the spot where he gets a ride from his boss Jay-son Finney. The wooded area is about 150 yards from the store on New Snapfinger Woods Drive at Wesley Chapel Road.
DeKalb police were on the scene for hours, but did not release many details. Capt. Nicole Rutland said the likely cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, but she said Brown had several gunshot wounds to the body as well.
Rutland said police did not have a suspect, but friends and family members contend Brown was killed by a man he has known since childhood.
Later Friday afternoon, DeKalb County police Capt. Stephen Fore told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that investigators believe Brown and his attacker knew each other, and that while police had a person of interest, they had not spoken to the person yet.
Brown worked for Alpha Evictions, a company that contracts with the DeKalb County Marshal’s Office to assist in evictions, said Finney, the company’s owner.
Brown leaves behind a daughter, 5, and a son 1, according to his stepfather Joseph Smith.
“He’s a nice young man. I don’t know why somebody had to shoot him,” Smith said.
Police do not believe the New Snapfinger Woods shooting is related to a home invasion shooting that occurred around 7 a.m. at the Colony Ridge apartment complex near Glenwood Road and Austin Drive. Two officers were shot in the leg with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. Two suspects were also wounded.
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