Authorities in Georgia say a man was killed in an apparent hate crime as he walked to a train station in the Atlanta area on Tuesday morning.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, two men are believed to have approached 28-year-old Ronald Peters as he walked down Orchard Circle in Decatur, shouting a homophobic slur before opening fire.
Police say a witness told them that the men commanded Peters to hand over the bag he was carrying and one of the men shouted the epithet.
“The witness then stated one of the unidentified suspects shot the victim in the chest with a chrome pistol, then proceeded to shoot him again in the neck after he was on the ground and took his bag,” a police report alleged.
According to the report, responding officers recovered two shell casings from the scene.
The victim’s partner reportedly told investigators that a pair of men directed the same slur at Peters in an incident about a week earlier. At the time, however, he said they “didn’t think anything of it and never asked about it.”
After the shooting, police say the suspects left in an maroon extended cap pickup truck with a third individual in the driver’s seat. Peters was rushed from the scene to an area hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
“Detectives are aware of the witness statements and are working to identify those involved in this incident,” said DeKalb County Police Sgt. J.D. Spencer.
[Featured image: Ronald Trey Peters, Facebook]
