A shooting near a busy QuikTrip gas station off Turner Hill Road left one person with non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon, as DeKalb County Police officers descended on the scene near Interstate 20 in Lithonia to investigate. A vehicle was involved in the gunfire, and no suspects have been taken into custody.
Vehicle Riddled With Bullet Holes
DeKalb County Police officers responded to the shooting near Turner Hill Road on Thursday afternoon, according to FOX 5 Atlanta. The outlet reported that its news crews observed the scene and saw a damaged car with multiple bullet holes being towed away from the gas station. Police have not released information about what led up to the gunfire or about any potential suspects.
The precise address tied to the shooting corresponds to a QuikTrip near the interstate, according to 11Alive. DeKalb County Police confirmed details regarding the shooting and injuries, though the department has not said whether it believes the victim was targeted or caught in crossfire. The DeKalb County Police Department is continuing to investigate the shooting near Turner Hill Road.
Same Gas Station Saw Bystander Shot in 2024
This is not the first time gunfire has erupted at that exact QuikTrip. An innocent female bystander was shot in the leg at the same location on Turner Hill Road in March 2024, according to WSB-TV. The corridor has also seen other violent flare-ups nearby: gunfire tied to an attempted armed robbery near the Mall at Stonecrest on Turner Hill Road triggered a multi-hour lockdown and a major law enforcement response in February, according to a Facebook post from a local journalist covering the scene.
Hoodline has previously reported on gun violence along this stretch of south DeKalb County, including chaos at the nearby Stonecrest Mall and the conviction of a man in a separate gas station killing in Stonecrest. Just weeks ago, a late-night shooting on Browns Mill Road left one victim seriously injured, and an afternoon shooting on Fairington Road seriously hurt another person earlier this year.
Legal Stakes If Suspects Are Identified
Because the shooting involved a vehicle and left a car pocked with bullet holes, Georgia law could carry significant weight once any suspects are identified. Under Georgia Code § 16-5-21, discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle toward another person without legal justification constitutes aggravated assault, a felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, according to the Atlanta law firm Conoscienti & Ledbetter, LLC. Separately, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-106 mandates a consecutive sentence of up to five years for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony, a penalty that cannot run concurrently with the underlying charge, according to Kaufman Law.
A Corridor Under Pressure Despite Countywide Gains
Turner Hill Road functions as a major commercial artery and Interstate 20 interchange in Stonecrest, handling roughly 19,900 vehicles daily near major retail centers, according to Atlanta Regional Commission planning documents. The City of Stonecrest has previously invested Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funding into safety upgrades along the corridor, including solar-powered flashing stop signs and intersection improvements at Rockland Road, according to the City of Stonecrest.
The recurring violence along Turner Hill Road stands in contrast to the county's broader crime statistics. DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos reported during a department performance presentation that the county saw a 59% overall drop in violent crime from 2024 to 2025, along with an 84% reduction in confirmed shots-fired calls since 2021. Yet a violent crime survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association found DeKalb County recorded 3,500 aggravated assaults in 2025, up slightly from 3,431 in 2024, even as homicides fell from 129 to 91 over the same period. Separately, public safety data reported by WABE showed DeKalb County police chases jumped by nearly 500% between 2024 and 2025 following a departmental policy update.
