Lyft driver claims she picked up suspects who shot man in Atlanta
Atlanta police investigate after a man was shot on Sawtell Avenue SE on May 11, 2026. (FOX 5)
ATLANTA - Atlanta police officers are searching for suspects after a 30-year-old man was shot on Sawtell Avenue Monday evening.
What we know:
Officers went to the 300 block of Sawtell Avenue SE just before 7:30 p.m. to investigate reports of a person shot. When they arrived, they found a 30-year-old man who had been shot.
The victim was reportedly alert and breathing when he was taken to a nearby hospital. According to investigators, the man was unable to tell officers who shot him or why the shooting occurred.
What they're saying:
Lyft driver Darilyn Murriell claims she picked up a woman on Sawtell Avenue who asked her to drive her "brothers" as well. Murriell said she saw two men in masks running toward her car. When she tried to drive away, the woman insisted they stay.
"She was in the middle of the street," Murriell said about when she first picked the woman up. "I kind of felt like something was wrong, but I didn't pay no mind to it."
In the chaos, Murriell said she crashed her car. She claimed the people in her vehicle told her they had just shot a man who was giving them a tattoo, and he was chasing them. "I really felt like I was going to get hijacked," Murriell said, describing the situation as "terrifying."
What we don't know:
While the Lyft driver reported a possible motive involving a tattoo, investigators are still working to officially determine what led to the gunfire. Police have not yet identified any suspects or confirmed the details of the driver's claims.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Atlanta Police Department and an interview with Lyft driver Darilyn Murriell, who provided a witness account of the events surrounding the shooting on Sawtell Avenue.