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'We are heartbroken' | Grieving mother speaks out after Lyft driver allegedly shot, killed by former APD officer

Former officer Koby Minor allegedly shot Reginald Folks, 35, while he was giving him a ride home early Wednesday morning.

ATLANTA — A mother is left with a hole in her heart after her son, a Lyft driver, was gunned down allegedly by a former Atlanta Police officer while giving him a ride home earlier this week. 

Early Wednesday morning, Union City Police officers responded to Stonewall Tell Road and found Reginald Folks, 35, dead from a gunshot wound. Police said Koby Minor, an Atlanta Police officer on administrative leave, allegedly shot Minor while giving him a Lyft ride to his residence. It's unclear why Minor targeted Folks. 

Minor was arrested by the Union City Police Department on May 15 and submitted his resignation to the Atlanta Police Department the same day. APD said he was already on leave due to a separate case.

11Alive spoke to the victim's mother, Marchelle Folks, who currently lives in Delaware. She is still trying to understand why the tragedy happened to such a good person. 

"[I'm] very proud of the man he became. Everywhere I went, people met him and enjoyed him. He always ran into people that he knew," she said. "He was a friendly guy, very social. Reggie was pretty much the life of the party."

Credit: Folks family
Reggie (pictured on the far left) in a photo with his parents

Folks said her son, whom she calls Reggie, moved to Atlanta from New Jersey around 12 years ago to attend Clark Atlanta University, and the rest was history.

"He loved Atlanta," Folks recalled. 

She says she last spoke to her son this past Sunday, on Mother's Day. She also said the family is taking his death hard, especially his younger brother, whom he was extremely close to.

"He was my oldest, 35," she said. "I just talked to him on Mother's Day, and he had just talked to his brother for three hours... We are heartbroken about the entire thing." 

She said Reggie had recently started professional wrestling and "truly loved it." He would travel to nearby states to compete, but he was driving Lyft on the side for extra money. 

Credit: Folks family

Lyft previously told 11Alive that they have contacted Folks' loved ones to offer support during this time. 

"We stand ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation and have permanently banned the rider’s account from the Lyft community," a Lyft spokesperson said

The shooting remains under investigation, according to the Atlanta Police Department. 

    

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