Grieving DeKalb mother calls son's killer 'a coward'
DeKalb fire station shooting leaves family pleading for justice
A local family wants justice as the one-year anniversary of a deadly DeKalb County shooting approaches with no suspects in custody.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - DeKalb County police are searching for the gunman who shot and killed a local trucker nearly one year ago, leaving his family desperate for justice.
What we know:
Sharon Jennings is living through a nightmare that words cannot fully capture after losing her oldest child. Her son, 32-year-old trucker Derek Cummings, was working a side lawn care job at a daycare on Columbia Drive on July 25, 2025, when a worker noticed someone stealing from his truck.
Cummings followed the thief to a nearby fire station. The suspect shot Cummings and ran off in the victim's own truck. Medics rushed the father of three to Grady Hospital, where he died from his injuries while his youngest child was only a week old.
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What they're saying:
Jennings hopes someone will finally come forward to help detectives secure an arrest. She remains in denial, constantly waiting for her son to walk through the door.
"To the person that did it. You are a coward. You are not owning up to what you have done. You took someone away from a family, from a newborn baby, and I don't think it made any sense for you to do that," Jennings said.
What we don't know:
Investigators have not identified a suspect or made any arrests as the somber one-year anniversary of the killing approaches. The family remains completely in the dark because surveillance cameras at both the daycare center and the fire station were broken that day.
DeKalb County police officials stated they currently have no new details to release. However, authorities are urging anyone with information to contact investigators immediately.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Sharon Jennings, who explained how we got it through her personal account of her son's death, as well as a spokesperson with the DeKalb County Police Department.