On April 20, 2023, 19-year-old Jalen Curtis, a Black male from Atlanta, was found with gunshot wounds at the Flipper Temple Apartments on Abner Terrace and later died at a hospital. Curtis had been with others who planned to steal cars; witnesses said he and another man, Rodreiko Russell, left an Abner Terrace apartment complex intending to strike, a slang term for car theft. Two fatal shootings occurred close in time and place that morning: 27-year-old Korri Jackson was killed on Main Street, and shortly afterward Curtis was shot at Abner Terrace. Police believe the two shootings are connected and a stolen black Kia Optima was present at both scenes.

Video later showed three males exiting that Kia at the Abner Terrace complex, putting Curtis on the ground and trying to get help from residents before leaving. The Atlanta Police Department identified three suspects: Johnkevious Anderson, Kmauri Burnett, and Rodreiko Russell. Anderson was arrested in June 2023, later pleaded guilty, and received a life sentence. Burnett was arrested in December 2025 and is awaiting extradition to Atlanta; Russell remains at large. A review of Curtis’s social media included a group chat in which Burnett allegedly said he took Curtis’s phone after Curtis was shot and that Curtis was not breathing when they left him.

If anyone knew Jalen, where he spent time, or has information about Russell’s whereabouts, please come forward.