DeKalb County

Teen shot, killed in church parking lot

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police are looking for whoever shot and killed a teen in a church parking lot near Lithonia.

A DeKalb County police spokesperson said 19-year-old Omar Johnson was with three of his friends when he was shot about 9:15 p.m. in the parking lot of the Big Miller Grove Missionary Baptist Church on the corner of Big Miller Grove Way and Salem Road.

Rebecca Griffin has lived in Lithonia for years, raising her son and daughter. When she found out Johnson was shot and killed, she was infuriated.

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"It is just sad that the children and just people in the community as a whole can't feel safe," Griffin said.

Johnson's sister said all of their relatives are having a hard time believing he is gone, noting he just graduated from high school.

"He was kindhearted," Johnson's sister said. "He'd give anybody anything."

Authorities say Johnson was using the church parking lot as a shortcut to get to a store on Panola Road. As he was coming up to the store -- or he could have been leaving -- police say that is when someone shot and killed him.

Daniel Taylor, a witness, said he was leaving the store when the shooting happened.

"I heard four shots," Taylor said.

Taylor, a basketball coach who works with kids in the area, didn't know Johnson but when he learned the teen died, he could not sleep.

"Thinking about somebody's parents gotta wake up and your kid is dead, that simple," Taylor said.

Police are working leads to find the shooter. Johnson's relatives said they may want to talk more about who the victim was once they get over the initial shock from his slaying.