Body of man fatally shot found outside day care

GWINNETT COUNTY — Gwinnett County police say a shooting that left a 21-year-old man dead in a day care parking lot, may have been drug related.

Police say a woman brought the victim to the Childtime Day Care Center along Darling Court around 3:30 p.m. Saturday to try and get him to safety after he had been shot somewhere else.

The man died on his way to a nearby hospital.

"We don't think this crime was connected anyway to the day care except that it was a convenient parking lot for the driver to pull in with the victim as he was injured," said Sgt. Jake Smith, with the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Only Channel 2 Action News was in the unincorporated Lilburn neighborhood Saturday night, about a half-mile away from the day care, as police investigated a second crime scene.

“It's really hard to believe it happened here,” one neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told Channel 2’s Matt Johnson.

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The neighbor said officers and K-9s searched the woods for the shooter.

“They were hustling. They were after whoever they were after in a very strong way,” the neighbor told Johnson.

Police don't have a suspect but they may have a motive for the shooting.

“We suspect at this point it may be drug related but at this point we can’t say that for sure,” Smith said.

Police say a female witness was also the one who drove the victim to the day care as she tried to get him to safety.

Neighbors in the Lilburn community say they never thought their quiet neighborhood would be involved in a homicide.

“It can happen anywhere nowadays. It's a shame. It's a terrible shame,” the neighbor said.

Police say the woman driver is cooperating with police.

The car the man was found in was towed away for evidence. Police believe the killer shot the victim while he was still in the car.

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