In the late afternoon of August 19, 2018, a dispute in the parking lot of a Snellville, Georgia, Walmart escalated into a fatal shooting that claimed the life of 49-year-old Fadil Delkic. Delkic, a Bosnian-American man and a survivor of a concentration camp during the Bosnian War, was with his wife, Bahra Delkic, when the incident occurred. The altercation began when Troy Hunte's fiancée, who was pushing a stroller with her baby, felt that Delkic had driven his car too close to them in the
crosswalk.
Following the initial confrontation, Delkic drove away and parked his car elsewhere in the lot. However, the matter did not end there. Hunte and his fiancée approached Delkic's vehicle, and the argument reignited. According to authorities who reviewed surveillance footage, Hunte's fiancée slapped Delkic in the face. Immediately after, while reportedly on his phone, Troy Hunte pulled out a handgun and shot Delkic once in the chest. The single gunshot sent shoppers running for cover. Delkic was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Troy Hunte, 27 at the time, was arrested and initially charged with voluntary manslaughter. Investigators initially believed he may have been provoked. However, after a review of the Walmart surveillance video, which captured the entire incident, the Gwinnett County District Attorney's office upgraded the charges against Hunte to felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The footage reportedly showed that Delkic had attempted to de-escalate the situation by moving his car. Authorities also considered charging Hunte's fiancée for her role in the altercation, with potential charges of simple battery or being a party to the crime of murder being discussed.
In the wake of his death, Delkic's family remembered him as a loving father, husband, and a man who had already endured immense hardship in his life. His niece started a GoFundMe page to help with the costs of transporting his body to his native Bosnia for burial. In addition to the criminal proceedings, Fadil Delkic's widow, Bahra Delkic, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Troy Hunte and Walmart, alleging that the retailer had inadequate security measures in place given a history of crime in their parking lots. Hunte was held in the Gwinnett County jail without bond. A judge later found probable cause to move the case against him forward.
