Gwinnett County

Police: Woman found dead in burned-out car may have been kidnapped hours earlier

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. — Police say a woman who was found dead in a burned out car in Gwinnett County was involved in a shootout just six hours earlier in Johns Creek.

Officers said a suspected drug deal turned into a shootout in the Retreat at Johns Creek Apartments Monday night when a group of men started firing at each other. One man ran from the scene and left his girlfriend in the car.

Neighbors found that car torched in the middle of a Lawrenceville neighborhood early Tuesday morning. The female victim hasn't been identified. Police are investigating how she got from 15 miles away from Johns Creek as a possible abduction.

Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach talked to neighbors in Johns Creek who heard the gunfire. Larry Hill said he heard half a dozen shots Monday night near the clubhouse.

."They were extremely loud," Hill said. "You don't hear gunshots here so you knew they were gunshots."

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By the time officers arrived on scene they found evidence of a shootout but no shooters or victim. That's why they think the woman may have been kidnapped.

"Investigators are starting from there, that she was in the car and that he fled the scene, so someone jumped in that car and drove it out of here with her in the vehicle," Capt. Chris Byers with the Johns Creek Police Department said.

Police did not find any evidence anyone was injured during the shooting in Johns Creek.

Lawrenceville police are now handling the investigation and trying to track down the suspects.

"To think something like that could be connected is definitely concerning for me and my family," Hill said.