DECATUR, Ga. — Police are searching for three people following an alleged drug deal that turned into a deadly shooting in DeKalb County, according to police.
Around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, police responded to a report of a person dead near Flat Shoals Parkway and Snapfinger Road. When officers arrived, they found a 27-year-old man dead inside a vehicle.
Police said the victim was parked at a Chevron gas station when the shooting unfolded. Detectives believe the man was trying to buy drugs and tried to quickly take off during the exchange.
When the driver hit the gas, investigators believe the person outside the car pulled out a gun and shot the driver in the neck. The victim’s foot was still on the gas, causing the car to roll across the street, hitting multiple objects before coming to rest, police said.
The medical examiner identified the victim as 27-year-old Nicolas Grierson.
The investigation remains ongoing, and police are searching for three people believed to be involved, with one person being the alleged shooter.
DeKalb County leaders are trying to curb this type of crime after passing a list of security ordinances businesses must follow. Former DeKalb County Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson helped create the ordinance.
“We immediately began to see a difference in our ability to utilize footage as a tool for law enforcement to apprehend people who tend to break the law,” Cochran-Johnson said.
Amendments were made to give businesses more flexibility.
“The provision requiring that each gas pump have a dedicated camera was removed,” Cochran-Johnson added.
She said that’s because many of the businesses have aerial cameras of the gas station.
“The second area that proved problematic was the storing of footage for 60 days. So immediately when we reduced the 60-day requirement down to 30, that brought over 40 percent of the gas and service stations who were out of compliance within the compliance measures,” Cochran-Johnson said.
