DeKalb County police are investigating after a man's body was found with a gunshot wound outside an apartment building in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road in Lithonia. The man has not been identified, and police have not released any information about a potential suspect.
Officers responded to the scene in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road, according to Atlanta News First, which reports that the outlet plans to provide updates as the investigation continues. No further details about the man's identity or the circumstances of his death have been released.
Same Block Saw a Killing Just Over a Week Ago
The discovery comes just eight days after a fatal shooting on the very same block. On August 9, DeKalb County police responded to a shooting in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road that left 20-year-old Ricardo Fallen dead, according to a report cited in the georgialegalreport.com account of the incident; police said Fallen was shot multiple times inside an apartment. Hoodline previously covered a shooting at the same address that left one hurt days earlier.
The apartment complex situated in that block, known as Stonecrest Mill Apartment Homes and formerly called The Oaks at Stonecrest, has a documented history of violence. Police recorded 191 crimes at the 280-unit property between 2017 and July 2023, including 33 aggravated assaults and a homicide, according to an investigative series by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A Corridor With a Long History of Gun Violence
Evans Mill Road's violent history extends beyond the apartment complex itself. In July 2024, two men were sentenced to life in prison without parole for the February 2020 ambush and murder of a convenience store owner during an attempted robbery in the same 2700 block, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney's office. In April 2024, DeKalb police arrested a suspect on malice murder charges after a 34-year-old man was shot and killed outside a sports grill on Evans Mill Road.
The pattern extends further back as well. In September 2025, DeKalb police investigated another fatal shooting in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road that stemmed from an argument between two people, according to a report from 11Alive. Together, the incidents paint a picture of a stretch of road that has repeatedly drawn homicide investigators over the past several years.
Countywide Numbers Tell a Different Story
The localized violence along Evans Mill Road stands in contrast to broader trends touted by county leadership. During an August public town hall series, DeKalb County Police Department leadership announced that overall homicides, violent crime, and property crime had dropped across the county's four precincts during the first half of 2026, per 11Alive's coverage of the meetings. DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Lorraine Cochran-Johnson reported in July 2025 that countywide homicides had dropped 34% year-to-date compared to 2024, mirroring broader metro Atlanta trends in violent crime reduction.
Georgia's Safe at Home Act, which took effect in July 2024, established a statutory requirement that residential rental properties maintain conditions fit for human habitation, following years of investigative reporting into high-crime apartment complexes across metro Atlanta. Under Georgia law, a murder conviction — whether malice murder or felony murder — carries mandatory statutory penalties of life imprisonment, life imprisonment without parole, or the death penalty, according to legal analysis of O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1.
Anyone with information about the body found in the 2700 block of Evans Mill Road is asked to contact DeKalb County police. The department maintains a mobile app and a text-a-tip service, allowing residents to submit anonymous information by texting DKPD to 847411, per WSB-TV. No arrests have been announced in connection with Sunday's discovery, and the identity of the man found remains unknown.
