Fitzgerald Carelus was shot and killed on June 30, 2022, at a Chevron on Highway 138 West in Stockbridge, Georgia, after a dispute that reportedly involved a cellphone. Surveillance footage shows a man later identified as Jamil Hakim Gray approach Carelus with a suitcase, a verbal altercation occur, and Gray produce a handgun and fire at least one shot that struck Carelus in the stomach. Carelus was able to walk and talk initially but died later at an Atlanta hospital. Both men were reported to have been staying at a nearby homeless encampment.

Henry County investigators identified Gray as the primary suspect, obtained a murder arrest warrant, and noted he had been known by the street name Blue and had prior charges including an outstanding aggravated assault warrant in Atlanta, a 2013 statutory rape charge, and a 2017 arrest for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. After weeks of surveillance, officers located Gray at a McDonough hotel and took him into custody following a five-hour standoff on September 2, 2022; two other occupants of the room were removed safely. Gray was charged with felony murder in connection with Carelus’s death.

Did anyone who knew Fitzgerald Carelus or who was staying at the encampment see what happened that night?