Crime

Man gunned down at east Macon gas mart marks city’s eighth killing in 25 days

A Macon man was shot to death Sunday night at a convenience store on the city’s east side, the authorities said.

An alleged suspect in the 9:43 p.m. shooting could be seen in images captured by a security camera inside a gas mart at 584 Emery Highway, which sits about a block east of Coliseum Drive.

The victim, Gregory Lamar Watkins Jr., who turned 27 on Friday, was said to have been standing inside the store when his assailant opened fire, Bibb County sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

Coroner Leon Jones said Watkins, who lived in west Macon, suffered “multiple gunshot wounds.”

Watkins was pronounced dead about an hour later after someone drove him to the emergency room at Coliseum Medical Centers less than half a mile away.

A surveillance camera captured images of an alleged suspect wanted in the shooting death of a Macon man Sunday night inside an Emery Highway gas mart.
A surveillance camera captured images of an alleged suspect wanted in the shooting death of a Macon man Sunday night inside an Emery Highway gas mart. Bibb County Sheriff's Office

Further details of the shooting were not immediately available.

The slaying was the city’s eighth violent-crime death in 25 days.

Watkins’ death was the 15th homicide of 2021 that has or appears likely to result in a murder charge.

The four other homicides in Macon this year include a pair of vehicular homicides and two deaths in which a suspect was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

This story was originally published April 19, 2021 at 8:53 AM.

Joe Kovac Jr.
The Telegraph
Joe Kovac Jr. writes about local news and features for The Telegraph, with an eye for human-interest stories. Joe is a Warner Robins native and graduate of Warner Robins High. He joined the Telegraph in 1991 after graduating from the University of Georgia. As a Pulliam Fellowship recipient in 1991, Joe worked for the Indianapolis News. His stories have appeared in the Washington Post, the Seattle Times and Atlanta Magazine. He has been a Livingston Award finalist and won numerous Georgia Press Association and Georgia Associated Press awards.
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