Road rage dispute ends with man fatally shot in bar parking lot, Georgia cops say
A man was shot and killed when a road rage dispute escalated to gunfire outside an Atlanta-area bar, authorities in Georgia say.
Officers were alerted to a shooting at Will Henry’s Tavern around 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19, according to the Gwinnett County Police Department. They arrived to find a man with an “apparent gunshot wound” in the parking lot of the Stone Mountain pub.
The man, identified as 39-year-old Jerome Johnson, was taken to a hospital where he later died, police said. A co-worker said Johnson was a night manager at the bar, WGCL reported.
McClatchy News reached out to Will Henry’s Tavern for comment and was awaiting a response.
Investigators said they believe the shooting stemmed from road rage.
“Based on what we’re gathering from witnesses and video footage, it appeared the suspect was on a bicycle,” Corporal William Wolfe told WXIA. “ The victim was in a vehicle and at some point, they made contact in the parking lot and an argument broke out ... which led to the shooting.”
Jonnathan Bladimir Hernandez, 27, was arrested near the scene, and charged with aggravated assault and felony murder, police said. He was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail where he remained as of Dec. 20, online records show.
The shooting remains under investigation.
Stone Mountain is about 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.