MACON, Ga. — Brian Matthew Brown was shot and killed in a North Macon neighborhood after leaving his home around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
One woman was distraught after realizing her neighbor was dying from gunshot wounds near a trailer.
Another neighbor, Marc Jolley, said it was a normal night until Brown was alerted.
"He had an alarm go off. Apparently, he went out to check his truck and then this happened," Jolley said. "He was shot here just behind me."
Browns' neighbors referred to him as "Matt". They were shocked the shooting happened in their neighborhood.
"I woke up to four gunshots and I wasn't sure so I looked out the back of the house and I live on the far end from here. I looked out the back and there was just nothing. It was just dark and everything nut I laid down and as soon as I did the sirens came," Jolley said.
After that, Jolley went out to see his neighbor was dead.
"I stood over there and just watched him because of the tape. They taped it off you know so I was standing behind the tape," Jolley said.
Not too much later, a crowd started to gather but they weren't sure what they were seeing.
"It was probably about 45 minutes or so until we found out who it was and that's when we were all simply crushed," Jolley said.
Brown's family had to come identify him.
"His parents came and his mom was just distraught. It was just a really hard night," Jolley recalled.
Brown's neighbors valued him and his knowledge.
"He was a delightful guy in the sense that he was just so intelligent. He was so bright. He was interesting to talk to because he knew so much," Jolley said.
Tuesday night there will be a vigil for Brown. His neighbors are getting together to remember and honor the work he's done and the person he was.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office is asking for help in this case.
The sheriff's office is looking for a silver SUV that was leaving the scene after shots were fired. It's described as a possible crossover-type, which may have had an out-of-state tag.
They're also trying to identify a person of interest who was seen in surveillance video walking through the parking lot. If you have any information in this case you can call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68CRIME.
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