Dontavious Stokes was 23 when he was killed in the early morning hours of September 6, 2014. He was in the living room of his Smith Street home in southwest Atlanta watching television when more than a half-dozen rounds were fired from outside the residence. A single fatal bullet struck his torso; a roommate upstairs was not hurt. Family members described extensive bullet damage to the television and walls and found Dontavious lying by the sofa.

His family called him a peaceful, well-liked person and said they could not understand why anyone would target him. They believed the house was deliberately shot into and suggested Dontavious himself might not have been the intended target. Atlanta detectives investigated whether the shots came from a drive-by or from a shooter on foot, canvassing the neighborhood and processing the scene, but had not determined the shooter’s exact position.

Two years later the house remained vacant and scarred by bullet holes; family members held a vigil hoping to revive interest in the unsolved killing. No arrests or suspects have been publicly identified. If anyone knew Dontavious, his routines, or observed activity near Smith Street that night, please share what was seen.