In the early evening of June 8, 2017, Dedrick Davis, a 21-year-old African American male, was at the Lucky Panda restaurant on South Hairston Road in Decatur, Georgia, when a man walked in and opened fire. Davis was shot multiple times in the face and back and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses reported that the gunman shouted, 'This is for my nephew' or 'This is for my cousin' before he started shooting.
Davis attempted to flee into the restaurant's kitchen to escape the assailant.
The shooter fled the scene immediately after the attack. Through witness statements and surveillance footage, law enforcement identified the suspect as 33-year-old Travis Traion Minor. Investigators determined that the motive for the shooting was retaliatory, as Minor's cousin had been murdered just days before Dedrick Davis's death.
A manhunt for Minor was launched by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Doraville Police Department. On July 5, 2017, authorities apprehended Minor without incident as he was leaving his job in Doraville. He was subsequently charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence that included surveillance video and testimony from eyewitnesses. This evidence was crucial in securing a conviction against Travis Traion Minor. He was found guilty of the murder of Dedrick Davis and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
