PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. — A man was shot and killed Sunday after someone tried to carjack him at a Peachtree Corners gas station, police said. They are still searching for those responsible.
Gwinnett police received a call that a person was shot at the QuikTrip at 5255 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners around 12:30 p.m.
They said a man, identified Monday as 29-year-old Bradley Coleman, was found dead near a car at the air pumping station and that the suspects were last seen driving south on Peachtree Parkway.
“We all heard a gunshot, and immediately we kind of looked at each other. Kind of like? Is that what we thought we heard?” Jarrett Bailey said, who works at the business next to QuikTrip.
Bailey stood in shock about 20 feet from the gunfire on Sunday.
“The first thing went through my mind was everybody in the store being safe," he said.
Detectives said that based on their initial investigation, Coleman pulled into the air pumping station, with his passenger door nearest the machine, then got out to fill his tires.
“As he is doing that, three occupants of a black four door sedan back into the parking space next to him, too," Gwinnett County Police Sgt. Michele Pihera said.
The suspect, investigators said, got in on the driver's side of Coleman's car, attempting to steal it. Coleman then got in on the passenger's side, and officers said the two began to fight. A second suspect from the carjacker's car also joined the fight.
“We believe that the victim was shot either during the physical altercation or shortly thereafter," Pihera said.
Unaware of the situation, police said, another driver pulled up to use the air pumps.
"The suspects were not able to take off with the victim's vehicle because that third car was in the way and those two vehicles collided," Pihera said.
The two people fighting the suspect returned to their car and drove away. APD is still looking for three men in a dark four-door sedan.
Bailey said he was horrified looking out the store window at the victim's body lying on the ground.
"Our first thought was is help going to get here in time?" Bailey said. "It turned out that it didn’t.”
The close-knit community is mourning a young man who lost his life over a car on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
“Being a woman and not feeling safe because anyone can attack you, especially if they just want your vehicle," Monique King said, who works nearby.
Investigators said they are interviewing witnesses and looking at video surveillance.
“All the customers that came in afterwards were shocked," Bailey said. "It’s just very tragic, very sad, somber mood for everybody in this area.”
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