GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities are investigating after a person was found dead inside a burning car.
The body was found Tuesday morning in the parking lot of a Gwinnett County neighborhood clubhouse.
A resident of the Spring Lake Cove subdivision called 911 about 3:30 a.m. to report a “loud popping sound” and flames coming from the area of the clubhouse on Springbottom Drive, Gwinnett fire spokesman Capt. Tommy Rutledge said in a statement.
Fire crews found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters did not discover the body until the fire was out, Rutledge said.
Lawrenceville PD and Gwinnett FD investigating car fire with body of a person found inside. Car in small lot of subdivision pool pic.twitter.com/27rlXgciM5
— Steve Gehlbach (@SteveGWSB) October 30, 2018
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Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach learned Lawrenceville police and Gwinnett fire investigators are working the case of the person found in the car fire as homicide and arson. The medical examiner is working to determine the victim's identity and how that person died.
Lawrenceville Police and Gwinnett Fire investigators working case of person found burned in car fire as homicide and arson. The have identified who car belongs to and now ME trying to determine victim’s ID and how they died pic.twitter.com/7HQcvdVt5p
— Steve Gehlbach (@SteveGWSB) October 30, 2018
Police have not said if they think the victim was a man or a woman, or if they have connected the case to any missing person, but said they have made one connection.
“It’s too early to say there’s a missing person; we don’t know. We did identify who the car belonged to and detectives are talking to the owner to determine who would have had the car,” Lt. Jake Parker said.
Authorities told Gehlbach that the blue Honda sedan belongs to someone from Gwinnett County.
They do not know if there is any connection to someone in the immediate area or neighborhood.
Residents told Channel 2 Action News the parking lot next to a playground and community pool is a hangout spot, but no one said they had noticed anything suspicious in the hours leading up to the fire.
A mother said she'll be watching her children a bit closer for now.
"It could have transpired at any point in the day. It didn't have to happen at two or three in the morning so that is definitely a concern," she said.
The state fire marshal's office is offering up to a $10,000 reward for a tip that solves the arson portion of the case.
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
