GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett Police are trying to identify three people involved in the attempted carjacking and murder of a beloved former high school football coach.
Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Tony Thomas was in Peachtree Corners, where Brad Coleman was gunned down at a QuikTrip gas station Saturday as he pumped air into his tires.
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Thomas spoke to Coleman’s friends, who said he was in town with his young daughter visiting his parents.
Coleman was a former football coach at Peachtree Ridge High School who was working to launch his own clothing line.
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His friend, John Lewis, and fellow coach Jason Prather said the 29-year-old lived in Louisiana, but he returned home for a visit.
“Brad had that fire and he would give you the shirt off his back in a heartbeat, but he’s not going to let you push him over,” Prather said. “He’s not going to let you do that.”
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Lewis wanted to see the people involved in his friend’s death punished.
“I want the law enforcement community to bring these animals to justice,” Lewis said. “They took away a great young man.”
Video from Coleman’s days as a football coach shows him proudly talking about his work.
“I just take pride and love coaching these young boys up and getting it right,” Coleman said in the video.
Lewis said he just saw Coleman last weekend.
“Bradley was a great young man,” Lewis said. “He was doing all the right things.”
Gwinnett Police said they are following up on leads, including surveillance video from the QuikTrip, but so far, there have been no major breaks in the case. Police said their were three people in the suspect’s car and they all got away after getting into a fender-bender as they fled the scene.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for Coleman’s funeral expenses.
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