The victim was identified as Rashawn Mackey as detectives gathered surveillance footage and forensic evidence from the scene.
ATLANTA, Ga. — Investigators in Atlanta were trying Tuesday to piece together the final minutes before 17-year-old Rashawn Mackey was shot to death inside a gas station store during a pre-dawn encounter with another man.
Police said officers were sent to a BP gas station on Metropolitan Parkway at about 2:30 a.m. after a report of a person shot. When they arrived, they found Mackey inside with a gunshot wound to the chest. He died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. Authorities later said the suspect had already fled, leaving detectives to reconstruct the shooting through surveillance video, physical evidence and witness interviews.
Lt. Christopher Butler said the shooting appeared to involve one gunman. Investigators believe Mackey encountered a man inside the store who became angry, though police had not explained what triggered that anger or what was said before shots were fired. Butler said early signs did not suggest the two men knew each other, but he stressed that detectives were still rolling back video and checking evidence to test that assumption.
That left several major questions unanswered Tuesday: why the confrontation began, whether Mackey was specifically targeted, and where the suspect went after leaving on foot. Police offered only a basic description, identifying the gunman as a Black male. No age estimate, clothing description or suspect name had been released in the first public briefing.
The scene drew a wider investigative response than a routine homicide call. Butler said the gas station had been cooperative as detectives pulled internal surveillance footage. The department’s homeland security unit was also called in to help locate and collect additional video from nearby cameras. K-9 officers searched a nearby area and recovered potential evidence that was sent for forensic testing, steps that suggested investigators were trying to map the suspect’s route away from the store.
Police said the shooting appeared to be isolated and that no one else was hurt. Even so, the killing stood out because it happened at a place where late-night workers and customers often stop expecting a routine errand, not gunfire. Butler noted a recent rise in shootings around the city, though he said this case did not appear tied to any of those other incidents.
One detail in the case shifted as local reporting developed. Police initially said Mackey was working as a food delivery driver and CBS reported officers had described him as working with Uber Eats. Later Tuesday, FOX 5 reported that Uber Eats said Mackey was not employed by the company and police could not confirm his exact employment status. That left investigators and reporters still working to pin down what he was doing in the store before the shooting.
By Tuesday afternoon, the case remained open, with detectives expected to keep reviewing footage, test evidence recovered near the scene and seek new witness information as they move toward identifying the gunman.
Author note: Last updated April 14, 2026.