Deborah Houston was 59 when she was killed in a drive-by shooting in southwest Atlanta in the early morning of a Monday in October 2020. She had been standing outside the Family Food Mart on Atlanta Avenue and Hank Aaron Drive at about 5:25 a.m. when a silver SUV drove by and a spray of bullets struck her in the head. Police found her unresponsive and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Family members said Deborah was homeless and often took refuge from the cold inside the 24-hour convenience store. Her sister Jeanetta said Deborah and another sister had been shot at in the same area just months earlier, a detail that underlines the fear the family faced. The Atlanta Police Department Homicide Unit opened an investigation and asked witnesses to come forward; at the time reports were published no arrests or suspects had been publicly identified and the inquiry was described as ongoing.

If anyone was in that area around 5:25 a.m. that October morning or has information about a silver SUV passing the Family Food Mart, please share what is known.