Man shot, killed outside downtown hookah lounge identified
DeAndre' Houston
Credit: Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home
By Shaddi Abusaid, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Authorities have identified a DeKalb County man found dead outside a downtown Atlanta hookah lounge last week.
Atlanta police were called to the Encore Hookah Bar & Bistro on Luckie Street shortly before midnight on Jan. 7 after receiving a report of a person shot. Officers arrived to find an unresponsive man lying in the street with a gunshot wound, the department said in a news release. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 29-year-old was identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office as DeAndre' Houston.
It's unclear what prompted Houston's shooting. Witnesses told investigators that a vehicle stopped outside the lounge and that a passenger got out and shot him before leaving the scene. No additional details have been released and it's unclear if investigators have identified any suspects in the case.
Houston's friends referred to him as "Padre," according to a GoFundMe page set up to help cover his burial expenses. As of Friday morning, the page had raised more than $17,000.
Last month, the Atlanta Police Department announced it would increase patrols around Atlanta's bars and nightclubs following a string of fatal overnight shootings. With 157 homicides reported in 2020, last year was the city's deadliest in more than two decades.
Shaddi Abusaid
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