In the late hours of a Saturday night, 24-year-old Henry Ashley was on duty as a security guard at a car dealership in Lithonia, Georgia, when he responded to an alert about a suspicious person on the property. It was February 19, 2022, a night that would end in tragedy. While on the phone with his wife, Kyla, who worked for the same security company, Ashley mentioned that the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. Shortly after, he was dispatched to investigate the alert.
Upon encountering five individuals at the dealership on Mall Parkway, the situation escalated, and Ashley was shot while inside his marked work vehicle. His wife later learned from the vice president of the security company that her husband had been shot and killed. Ashley was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. He left behind his wife and their young son.
In the wake of the shooting, the DeKalb County Police Department launched an investigation, releasing surveillance images of the five suspects and a gray hatchback they were believed to have fled in. A reward of up to $10,000 was offered for information leading to the arrests of those responsible.
Community tips proved crucial in the investigation, leading to the arrest of a 16-year-old male who was subsequently charged with murder and burglary. Surveillance footage showed the teenage suspect wearing a black hoodie with white writing. The search for the four other suspects connected to the murder of Henry Ashley continues.
