On the night of January 7, 2019, a chaotic scene unfolded in the parking lot of a Red Lobster on Candler Road in DeKalb County, Georgia, culminating in the death of 26-year-old Darion Rocky Jones. The incident began when an off-duty Clarkston police officer, working a part-time security job at the restaurant, observed a robbery taking place and went to assist the victim.
As the officer was aiding the robbery victim, four men, including Jones, entered a vehicle and allegedly opened fire
on the officer and the victim as they drove away. The officer returned fire, striking two of the individuals inside the car. The vehicle traveled a short distance before coming to a stop, at which point all four occupants exited. Darion Jones and another man, identified as 20-year-old Qasim Abdullah, had sustained gunshot wounds. Two other suspects who were in the vehicle fled the scene on foot and were not immediately identified.
Both Jones and Abdullah were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment. Darion Jones succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. Abdullah was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. No officers were injured during the exchange of gunfire.
Following the incident, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to conduct an independent investigation, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings in Georgia. The GBI's findings were to be turned over to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office for review. The family of Darion Jones disputed the official account of the events, stating that they did not believe he was involved in a robbery. Despite the initial investigation and identification of one of the other individuals involved, information regarding the final outcome of the GBI's investigation, the DeKalb County District Attorney's ultimate decision, any charges brought against Qasim Abdullah, or the apprehension of the two suspects who fled has not been made publicly available in the years following the event.
