Police have arrested the 33-year-old man they believe is responsible for the shooting death of another man outside a Smyrna apartment building on Wednesday, according to reports.
Donovan Carter has been charged in the shooting death of 40-year-old Kenneth Cunningham II outside the Harlow Apartments in the 2100 block of Cobb Parkway SE.
Carter made his first appearance before a magistrate judge on Thursday on charges of malice murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
“This is an incredibly different scenario than we would typically encounter,” said Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police Department.
Investigators say Cunningham was lured out of his Marietta apartment building with Carter posing as a delivery driver.
“It happened to have been the victim’s 40th birthday. So, this would have been a day that you would have been expecting to receive some of a package of some kind from a friend or a family member,” McPhilamy said.
Police say he was even in disguise.
“We can now confirm that the suspect did wear a costume to appear like they were a delivery driver. They did use that to then lure that victim out of their own residence and then subsequently shoot them to death,” McPhilamy said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded around 10:30 a.m. to the shooting in the 2100 block of Cobb Parkway SE since it was near the city limits, contributing to a massive manhunt for the shooter.
“You have the sheriff’s office with drones in the air. You have the Cobb County Police Department activating their Real-Time Crime Center. You had Cobb County Police with their canines, our officers and our investigators,” McPhilamy said.
Cunningham had been shot multiple times, police say.
Eventually, Carter was identified and was taken into custody during a traffic stop by Gwinnett County police on Wednesday evening.
He was booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center where he is being held without bond.
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