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Police searching for man they say shot and killed girlfriend day before her birthday

DeKalb County police are trying to track down a killer.

Investigators say a 27-year-old woman was shot and killed by her boyfriend at the Point Apartments over the weekend.

Monday would have been her birthday.

What was supposed to be a fun night out celebrating Renesha Manuel's birthday turned into tragedy on Saturday night.

Channel 2's Christian Jennings has learned Manuel was with friends and family at a restaurant when she and her 46-year-old boyfriend got into an argument.

DeKalb County police said the boyfriend left and headed toward the apartment complex on East Ponce de Leon Avenue. Manuel's friend gave her a ride home.

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"The victim and her female friend arrived at the apartment complex where they found the suspect’s vehicle wrecked in the entrance of the complex," Shiera Campbell with the DeKalb County Police Department said.

When Manuel and her friend got to her apartment, police said the door was open and her boyfriend was inside with a gun.

"She went inside and saw her apartment had been ransacked; we believe the suspect had gone in and ransacked the apartment," Campbell said.

Jennings spoke to Manuel's friend, who said she ran from the apartment to get help. As she was running, she said she heard five gunshots.

By the time she got to her phone in her car, called 911 and went back inside, the suspect was nowhere to be found.

Manuel died at a hospital.

"I seen police cars; I seen police out here at the pool and I just went on to the house. I didn’t think anything of it," said resident Chantel Sims.

People who live at the apartment complex told us they were shocked by the news.

"I didn’t even know about it," "Why didn’t no one told us this happened? When? Saturday? And this is Monday," Sims said.

DeKalb County police are not releasing the suspect's name. They said he also lives at the complex but the couple did not live together.

Investigators believe he could still be in the area.