In the early moments of a summer day in Atlanta, Georgia, the life of 23-year-old Lastarza Thomas, an African American male, was tragically cut short. On July 9, 2015, just after midnight, a 911 call led police to the intersection of Garibaldi and Gardner streets in the southwest part of the city. There, they found Thomas's body, left in the middle of the street.
An investigation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office would later confirm that he had been fatally shot.
Witnesses provided a harrowing account of the events that transpired. Thomas had been driving a black, four-door sedan with four other individuals inside. At some point, an individual within the car opened fire, striking Thomas. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, his body was pushed out of the vehicle and onto the pavement. As this was happening, another person from the car fled the scene on foot, disappearing into the night. The remaining three occupants then sped away in the sedan.
Atlanta police began to investigate the homicide, with one of the prevailing theories being that the shooting may have occurred during a carjacking. Authorities publicly expressed their hope that the individual who fled on foot would come forward with information that could shed light on the circumstances of Thomas's death and lead to the identification of those responsible.
Despite the initial leads and the appeal to the public for assistance, the investigation into the murder of Lastarza Thomas has not led to any publicly announced arrests or the naming of any suspects in the years that have followed. The case remains unresolved, leaving a family and a community still waiting for answers and for justice to be served for the young man whose life was violently taken.
