27-year-old Atlanta kidnap victim has been found dead hours after surveillance video captured the moment she was forced into a vehicle at gunpoint

Mariam Abdulrab, a bartender, had ended her shift at Revery VR Bar early Friday morning and stopped at a gas station on her way home

She was followed and kidnapped while walking up to her front door

Atlanta Police said officers were called around 5am Friday by a witness who called 911 after he saw a woman forced into an SUV at gunpoint

While police were still investigating, another 911 call came in at 6 a.m. reporting gunfire in the area of Lakewood Avenue and Terrace Way

Her body was later found near 1907 Lakewood Avenue in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood by a witness who called police around 9.55am

Investigators determined the kidnapping call and the shooting call were likely related

Cops named Demarcus Brinkley, 27, as a person of interest and he was taken into custody in Griffin by the Georgia State Patrol, shortly after

Before his arrest, Brinkley allegedly led cops on a high-speed car chase that ended when he wrecked his blue 2013 Chevrolet Equinox into gold Buick – both drivers were injured and hospitalized

Brinkley has not been charged in the kidnapping, while investigations continue, he is being held on traffic related charges

A 27-year-old Atlanta woman has been found dead hours after surveillance video captured the moment she was kidnapped while walking up to her home, as police announced a person of interest was taken into custody after he led cops on a high-speed car chase.
Mariam Abdulrab, a bartender at the Revery VR Bar, had ended her shift early Friday morning and stopped at a gas station on her way home when she was followed and kidnapped while walking up to her front door, her friend Elisha Kim posted on Facebook.
Abdulrab was kidnapped between 4.30am and 5am on Friday outside her home near Grant Park in southeast Atlanta, Kim’s post indicated.
The Atlanta Police said officers were called to 501 Burroughs Street around 5am by a witness who called 911 after he saw a woman forced into an SUV at gunpoint.
While police were still investigating, another 911 call came in at 6 a.m. reporting gunfire in the area of Lakewood Avenue and Terrace Way. Investigators determined the kidnapping call and the shooting call were likely related.

SurveAn hour later, cops responded to a call reporting shots had been fired nearby but found nothing in the area. Her body was later found near 1907 Lakewood Avenue in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood by a witness who called police around 9.55am.

Surveillance footage obtained by WGCL-TV purports to show Abdulrab forced to get into the SUV as she was kidnapped outside her home

Shortly after investigators identified a 27-year-old male described as a person of interest in the kidnapping. Before he was taken into custody in Griffin by the Georgia State Patrol, Demarcus Brinkley allegedly led cops on a high-speed car chase. 
Police quickly identified Brinkley a person of interest in the shooting and hours later spotted his 2013 Chevrolet Equinox south of Atlanta and a chase ensued. During a pursuit in Griffin, Brinkley crashed into a Buick.
Kidnap suspect Brinkley and the driver of the Buick were flown to area hospitals, but there were no updates on either of their conditions.
The state patrol said that Brinkley will be held on traffic charges once he is released from the hospital. The Atlanta Police Department has not filed charges related to Abdulrab’s kidnapping and murder.
The investigation into the kidnapping and homicide remains ‘very active,’ the Atlanta Police Department said.

The Revery VR Bar where Abdulrab worked said that it would remain closed through the weekend for the staff to grieve.
‘Our hearts are truly broken at the loss of a dear friend and family member. Mariam brought light to every single person she came in contact with and will forever be missed,’ the bar posted to Instagram.
‘We will be closed this weekend to grieve and savor our last moments with her. Please stay safe, y’all.’

Abdulrab’s family members and friends have mourned her loss, calling her ‘peaceful’ and a ‘living jewel.’
‘My daughter was the most peaceful and loving person. She did not deserve this,’ Khalid Abdulrab told WXIA-TV.
Grant Henry, who owns a bar known in brief as ‘Church’ where Abdulrab sometimes worked, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she was a member of the bar’s ‘family.’
‘Mariam was a living jewel. She shone,’ said Henry, whose bar’s name is Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium.
Henry added: ‘We are all family. As if the pandemic wasn’t enough, to lose a family member is even worse.’ 

Abdulrab’s death is the 15th killing of a woman in Atlanta this year and the 92nd homicide overall. Many instantly connected her slaying with the grisly murder of Katie Janness in Piedmont Park less than three weeks earlier.
Janness, also a bartender, was brutally attacked late at night while walking her dog. Despite the similarities between the two cases, Atlanta police do not believe they are connected.
Data from the Atlanta PD shows that there have been at least 90 murders in the city this year by August.
Local resident Harry Hamilton told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has been going to the neighborhood where Abdulrab’s body was found since 1972. He’d become numb to the violence, told the AJC.
‘It’s shocking that it happened, but this has been an area of questionable character for many years,’ Hamilton said.  ‘But I’ve never really experienced any violence of this nature – it’s becoming more commonplace, so it almost goes by like, “Oh well”.’