UPDATED: Decatur Police Investigate Murder After Body Found in Downtown Decatur
Decatur Metro | December 7, 2014 | 9:37 amUPDATE from Sgt Ross…
Officers were on there way to the person down call when they were notified someone reported having heard a gunshot. There are no suspects at this time. Investigators are still working on identifying the victim and notifying family.
From Decatur Police Sgt. Jennifer Ross…
On December 6, 2014 at approximately 10:55 pm, Decatur Police responded to a deceased person call in the 100 block of East Ponce de Leon Avenue. Witnesses reported noticing the victim laying on the ground as they were exiting a parking area. Preliminary investigation revealed the victim suffered a gunshot. A murder investigation is ongoing at this time.
WSB reports that the victim was a woman and she was found behind One Decatur Town Center, near the curb on the street between the building and the parking deck.
Image courtesy of Google Streetview
Praying that this wasn’t a random street crime.
Pure speculation, but my first thought was about those recent murders of homeless people in Atlanta.
I don’t think random speculation will serve a useful purpose here. Let’s wait for more information.
This just hurts my heart on every level.
Right there with you. Every level.
So, did the shooting take place at that location or was the body re-located after the shooting? It is hard to imagine that no one had shots fired.
Sgt Ross was interviewed by the news and said someone reported either a shot or shots were heard.
Is that a pay parking lot there with an attendant that supervises the lot?
It is a pay lot, but I’ve never been there in the evening and seen an attendant. Payment is automated.
Come on! This is MAJOR and it’s getting almost NO press. What is going on??? We need to know! Was it random? Who is the victim? Is the perpetrator still at large? Do the police know anything? Are we safe?
I agree – the WSB News link on this story from Decaturish basically shows that it happened near the sidewalk on Church. And then there is this from the comments section: “Was at Leon’s shortly after police arrived. DPD were looking for info on a thin white girl in an orange skirt.” …… Sounds like it might have been a robbery gone wrong. Terrible!
many years ago I was a lab tech at the Wolf Camera on W. Ponce. we used to print autopsy photos for the Dekalb D.A. At the time I read the paper every day and I was shocked at the number of murders that seemed to have no coverage in the news.
Ironic – something awful like this happens down in south Dekalb in “zip-code” Decatur it’s all over the news. When it occurs within the actual city limits…nada.
The event was on all at least 3 TV stations and online AJC. The PD issued a Nation of Neighbors notice and a press release. It was on this blog and Decaturish. I’m not sure what else they can do to get the word out.
I’ve seen it on all the local news outlets, so don’t know what you mean by “nada”. As apparently there is little information at this point (no victim id pending family notification), not sure else what the media is supposed to report.
Agreed — this is the fourth outlet for the story I’ve seen this morning. And since it was downtown on a Saturday night, the next-day neighbor interviews that are the staple of TV news reporting on residential area murder stories don’t apply.
My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the woman’s family. May she rest in peace.
DM, please consider eliminating the comments and locking the thread. Comments somehow minimize the tragic loss of her life.
i’m with you, Deanne.
Agree there is a regrettable smallness reflected in some of these comments but IMO it does nothing to minimize the victim or the tragedy. It does, however, reveal much about those making such comments.
Let the police do their job, people. There are details that have not been made public for very good reasons, even beyond the need for family notification. You do not have a right to immediate full disclosure just because you live in by-God City of Decatur. Locking the comments until more details are known and disclosed is not a bad idea.
I am also so very sad for the woman and her family. What an awful, senseless and tragic way to lose a loved one.
I hope the police will be able to release more information soon on exactly what happened so our community can take steps to help prevent this happening to anyone else on our streets.