Police: Man shot to death in front of family possibly targeted

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Loved ones gathered for a vigil Thursday night after police said a man was possibly targeted and shot to death while sitting in his car. 

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Family members identified the victim as Nicholas Bankston and said he was murdered on what would have been his 24th birthday. 

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The shooting happened around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in front of an apartment complex on Shropshire Lane in East Atlanta. Investigators said someone shot into a car full of people, including children, killing Bankson. 

Family members told FOX 5 two of the four people inside the car included the victim's pregnant fiancee and 1-year-old daughter. Bankston's mother told FOX 5's Marissa Mitchell her son had just finished celebrating his birthday and was on the way to her house when he was murdered. 

Investigators first thought Bankston died in a road rage incident, but now believe he may have been targeted. Investigators are working to determine what led up to the shooting and are talking to the Atlanta Police Department to see if the incident is related to a series of random shootings overnight into early Thursday morning.

RELATED: Atlanta Police investigating series of random shootings

A vigil was held Thursday night to commemorate Bankston's life on what would have been his 24th birthday.