The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Couple found dead by gunfire in driveway
Police suspect Wednesday’s events were slaying-suicide.
A Gwinnett County man and woman died early Wednesday morning in what police believe was a murder-suicide, officials said.
Police got the call shortly after 6 a.m. about a shooting on Woodington Circle in unincorporated Lawrenceville near Pleasant Hill Road and Club Drive. The neighborhood is a short distance from Gwinnett Place Mall.
When officers arrived, they found the man and woman dead in the driveway, police spokesperson Sgt. Michele Pihera told reporters at the scene. It’s not clear if the couple were married, but they had been in a relationship, she added.
Three children were inside the home at the time of the shooting, including a 15-yearold boy who called 911 after finding his mother’s body, Pihera said.
Police did not say who fired the fatal shots.
The shooting took place outside the house and none of the children were injured. Pihera could not confirm whether the woman was the mother to all three.
The man and woman do not have any local extended family, Pihera said, so authorities are trying to get in touch with the children’s schools to find emergency contacts.
Neighbor Colin Barnes said he knew the couple for about two years. If there were any signs of internal conflict, he hadn’t noticed, he said.
The two families would get together and drive their convertibles up Stone Mountain. Barnes said his wife would often babysit the children, and he would play basketball with the 15-year-old.
He had just invited the couple to church and the children to Vacation Bible School, he said.
The only sign of instability was news of the man recently having to “part ways” with a former employer, Barnes said.
“It’s really heartbreaking because I know he’s a family man,” he said.
“I’m sad this morning to lose a good friend, you know. It’s really tragic.”
It is unclear what caused the situation to escalate into deadly gunfire.