A Documentary Investigation
The wave of shootings and murders that turned Metro Atlanta's interstates into killing grounds — from 2018 through 2026.
Shootings in 2021 alone
Killed in 7 months
Arrest rate (2021)
Chapter 01
The Metro Atlanta crisis did not emerge in isolation. It was the local peak of a national surge in highway violence that accelerated dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Increase in road rage shootings nationally, 2014–2023
U.S. interstate shootings in 2021 (peak year)
People shot in road rage incidents, 2014–2023
Georgia's national rank for road rage shooting rate (2021)
U.S. Interstate Highway Shootings — Annual Count
Source: ABC News analysis using Gun Violence Archive data
The pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 represented the sharpest acceleration within this trend. Interstate highway shootings nationally rose from 540 incidents in 2019 to 846 incidents in 2021 — a 57 percent increase in just two years.
Law enforcement officials attributed this surge to what they termed the "pandemic impact on crime." The combination of pandemic-induced stress, a record increase in gun sales, and reduced traffic enforcement created a perfect storm of violence on American highways.
In Georgia, the situation was particularly dire. The state ranked 10th nationally in the rate of people killed or injured in road rage shootings in 2021, recording 15 injured and 6 killed.
Atlanta ranked among the top 10 cities in the country for gun-involved road rage incidents, recording 55 total incidents with 50 victims shot between 2014 and 2023.
Chapter 02
By July 19, 2021, at least 45 shootings had occurred on Atlanta-area roadways, killing 15 people and injuring many others. Out of those 45+ incidents, only a handful resulted in arrests.
Shootings Jan–Jul 2021
People killed
Arrest per 16 shootings (early 2021)
Metro Atlanta — Documented Highway Shootings by Year
Chapter 03
Every documented shooting, murder, and highway violence incident in the Metro Atlanta area. Click any card to expand full details.
Showing 52 of 52 incidents
Unnamed man
I-20 Eastbound, Atlanta
Unnamed man
Scott Boulevard, Decatur
Ernesto Anderson, 32
I-20 West at Capitol Avenue, Atlanta
Dagamy Dembel, 48
I-85 Northbound, DeKalb County
Unnamed man
I-75, Clayton County
Jarmel Jowers, 29; 1 other
I-85 Southbound, Midtown Atlanta
CyHi The Prynce (Cydel Charles Young), 36
I-20 West near Hamilton E. Holmes Drive, Atlanta
Solomon Howard, 33
I-20 Eastbound Ramp, Downtown Atlanta
Corey 'Chucky Trill' Detiege, 33
I-85 Southbound, Gwinnett County (near Jimmy Carter Blvd)
Jason Phillips
I-20, Atlanta
Unnamed woman
I-85, Coweta County (between Newnan and Fairburn exits)
Unnamed man (Powder Springs)
I-285 Southbound from I-20, Atlanta
Unnamed Lyft passenger
I-85 Northbound near Cleveland Avenue, Atlanta
Sheikevious 'Keevy' Young, 21
I-285 Northbound, south of Church Street, DeKalb County
Mother and young daughter
DeKalb County Road
Unnamed woman
I-85, DeKalb County
Unnamed person
Buford Hwy Connector, Atlanta
Carmen Cai Yi Lee, 25
Peachtree Industrial Blvd near Tilly Mill Rd, Doraville
Unnamed man
I-285, DeKalb County
Unnamed man (Stone Mountain)
Pryor Street gas station (from I-20), Atlanta
Unnamed man, 29
I-20, Southwest Atlanta
Unnamed man
I-20 near Lee Street, Atlanta
Unnamed person
I-20, Douglas County
Third-party vehicle occupant
Paulding County road
Unnamed Ohio woman
Atlanta (near I-285)
Unnamed man
I-20 Westbound near Downtown Atlanta
Unnamed Athens man (fatal); 1 other (injured)
Barrow County highway
Unnamed man
DeKalb County highway
Unnamed woman
Mangum & Mitchell Streets, Atlanta
Unnamed man
Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy, Atlanta
Unnamed person(s)
I-285 Eastbound at Riverdale Road, College Park
Unnamed woman
Marietta road
Unnamed person(s)
Old Roswell & Holcomb Bridge Roads, Roswell
Unnamed man
Columbia Drive, DeKalb County
Unnamed woman
I-85, Atlanta
Unnamed driver
I-20, Atlanta
Unnamed driver
Sweet Auburn neighborhood, Atlanta
3 people
Multiple Atlanta roads
Unnamed man
Downtown Connector, Atlanta
Unnamed Lyft passenger
Little Five Points, Atlanta
Unnamed man (fatal)
Northern Clayton County
Unnamed person
965 Cunningham Place, Atlanta
Tractor-trailer driver
I-75 Northbound, Cobb County
BMW driver
Highway 92, Acworth (Cherokee County)
21-year-old male; 18-year-old pregnant female; unborn child
I-285 Southbound Ramp & Cascade Road SW, Atlanta
Unnamed person
I-285, DeKalb County
Jorge Narvaez, 52
I-20 Eastbound, Douglas County
3 victims (1 fatal, 1 critical, 1 minor)
Hwy 78 & Lawrenceville Hwy, DeKalb County
Tywarn Jones, 50
I-285 Southbound near Glenwood Road, DeKalb County
Unnamed suspect
I-85 Northbound, Banks County
Lauren Bullis, 40 (fatal); Unnamed woman (fatal); Unhoused man (critical)
Multiple locations, DeKalb County / Brookhaven
Unnamed woman, 34 (fatal)
I-75 NB near North Central Ave, Atlanta (near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport)
Chapter 04
Analyzing the data from 2018 through 2026 reveals a consistent set of patterns that define highway violence in Metro Atlanta.
The most common trigger: a minor traffic interaction — a horn honk, a lane change, a perceived slight — that instantly escalates to gunfire. The perpetrator draws a weapon and fires from a moving vehicle, then accelerates away.
The victim is followed from a nightclub, gas station, or other location onto the highway. The perpetrator uses the high speeds and easy escape routes to execute a pre-planned attack.
A dispute that begins elsewhere — in a home, a parking lot, a neighborhood — spills onto the highway. The highway becomes the final, deadly venue for a conflict already in progress.
Primary Corridors — Documented Incidents
The most striking pattern is the persistently low arrest rate. In 2021, out of 45+ documented incidents, only a handful resulted in arrests. This is not primarily a failure of effort by law enforcement but a reflection of systemic obstacles.
The most significant obstacle is that GDOT traffic cameras provide only live streams and do not record footage. This means that in the vast majority of highway shootings, there is no video evidence of the perpetrator's vehicle, license plate, or direction of travel.
Speed & Mobility
The crime scene moves at 70–80 mph. The suspect is miles away before police are notified.
No Recording
GDOT cameras stream live only. No footage means no evidence of the fleeing vehicle.
Few Witnesses
High speeds and late hours mean rarely any reliable witnesses with plate numbers.
Technology Gap
Arrests occur when Flock license plate readers or cell tower data can track suspects.
Chapter 05
From the pre-pandemic escalation through the 2021 crisis and into the present day.
Road rage shooting incidents begin a steady national climb, rising from 83 incidents in 2014. Georgia records an average of 10 road rage shootings per year. The trend is building, but not yet a crisis.
540 interstate highway shooting incidents recorded nationally. In Metro Atlanta, incidents are frequent but not yet at crisis levels. Law enforcement begins to note the uptick in road rage calls.
COVID-19 pandemic begins. Gun sales surge to record levels. Pandemic-induced stress, reduced law enforcement activity, and emptier roads at higher speeds create volatile conditions. The stage is set.
The worst year on record. 45+ shootings on Metro Atlanta roadways in just seven months. 15 people killed. The Chucky Trill murder on I-85 draws national attention. Sheikevious Young, 21, is killed driving home from work — her case remains unsolved. Georgia ranks 10th nationally for road rage shooting rate.
The acute crisis of 2021 subsides but the pattern continues. In Acworth, Wade McEwen fires 14 rounds at a driver stopped at a red light. Atlanta Police Lt. Paula Lyons reports at least 50 road rage incidents in early 2022, including five shootings. Calls for GDOT camera recording capabilities intensify.
Highway shootings remain a persistent feature of Metro Atlanta life. National data shows 456 road rage shooting incidents in 2023. Atlanta ranks in the top 10 cities nationally. Technology — particularly Flock license plate readers — begins to close some cases that would previously have gone unsolved.
An unborn child is killed in a shooting on the I-285 ramp in December 2025. In April 2026, Tywarn Jones is shot and killed after an argument, his body found on I-285. Days later, a random shooting spree across DeKalb County kills two women. The pattern established in 2021 has not broken.
Chapter 06
The cases that defined the crisis — some solved, many not.
March 5, 2021
I-85 SB, Gwinnett County
Houston rapper murdered during NBA All-Star Weekend. Suspect James Edward Thomas followed him from a Jonesboro home to two nightclubs and then onto I-85. Tracked via cell tower data. Convicted April 2023: Life without parole + 105 years.
May 26, 2021
I-285 NB, DeKalb County
21-year-old driving home from her security job in Fairburn. Another driver pulled alongside her silver Nissan Versa and shot her. She died on June 1, 2021. Her father: 'She was simply driving home from work.' No arrest was ever made.
February 11, 2021
I-20 West, Atlanta
Grammy-nominated rapper chased and shot at while driving his Bentley. Sustained a minor hand injury. Later posted: 'It's chaotic out here. Please protect yourself, stay out the way and be careful, because it could all be over in a split second.'
April 7, 2026
I-285 SB, DeKalb County
50-year-old shot after an argument in a residential neighborhood. A witness drove him toward the hospital, meeting an ambulance at the I-285 Glenwood Road exit. Jones died from his injuries. Anessa Burton, 45, was arrested and charged with murder.
April 13, 2026
Battle Forrest Drive, DeKalb County
40-year-old woman shot and stabbed multiple times while walking her dog. Part of a random three-attack spree across DeKalb County. Suspect Olaolukitan Adon-Abel, 26, tracked via Flock license plate reader and arrested in Troup County. Two counts of malice murder.
May 29, 2021
Peachtree Industrial Blvd, Doraville (DeKalb Co.)
25-year-old UGA graduate and private equity professional, daughter of Chinese immigrants from Malaysia. She had dinner with her parents and was driving home when she was struck by gunfire — believed to be the unintended victim of a road rage shooting that began one mile away near Winters Chapel Road. Two shots were fired into her white RAV4; one struck her in the head. GDOT cameras covered the road but were not recording. A $10,000 reward was offered. Her brother Alvin: "The shooter was definitely shooting at somebody else. She just happened to get caught in the misfire." No arrest was ever made.
December 20, 2025
I-285 Ramp & Cascade Road SW
An 18-year-old pregnant woman was shot at the I-285 ramp. Both she and a 21-year-old male companion survived, but her unborn child was struck by gunfire and died. The Atlanta Police Homicide Unit investigated. No arrest was reported.
Chapter 07
News reports and coverage of the highway shootings and murders that have plagued Metro Atlanta's interstates.
A father speaks out after his child was killed in a shooting on I-285, one of the most heavily traveled corridors in Metro Atlanta.
Watch Now“He was en route to work and his life was ended.” A family speaks out after losing a loved one to highway violence on a Metro Atlanta interstate.
Watch NowA woman is found dead inside her vehicle on a Metro Atlanta roadway in a case that drew widespread attention and calls for answers.
Watch NowAn interstate shooting brings traffic to a standstill overnight, highlighting the disruption and danger these incidents create for the entire Metro Atlanta region.
Watch NowLaw enforcement launches a search for the suspect behind a deadly road rage shooting, as investigators piece together the events that led to the killing.
Watch NowAnother shooting on an Atlanta-area interstate prompts a police investigation, adding to the growing list of highway violence incidents across the metro area.
Watch NowGovernor Brian Kemp joins law enforcement officials to address the surge in violent crime across Atlanta, including the wave of highway shootings that defined 2021.
Watch NowSources & References
The Trace — Road Rage Shootings Have Surged Over the Past Decade
April 25, 2024
ABC News — Interstate highway shootings surged during pandemic
May 18, 2022
Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Stress, pandemic could spur road rage increase
May 17, 2022
Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Shootings on metro Atlanta roadways this year
July 19, 2021
11Alive — At least 16 shootings on Atlanta metro interstates in 2021 but nearly no arrests
May 27, 2021
Puglise Law Firm — Another Interstate Shooting Renews Calls for GDOT Camera Recorders
February 22, 2022
11Alive — Acworth man sentenced in 2022 road rage shooting
February 16, 2024
11Alive — DeKalb shooting spree: What we know about suspect Olaolukitan Adon-Abel
April 14, 2026
Atlanta News First — Woman arrested in shooting death of man found on I-285
April 7, 2026
Atlanta Police Department — Fatal Shooting: I-285 Southbound Ramp & Cascade Road
December 21, 2025