Columbus police have launched a homicide investigation after authorities found a body near a burned car in south Columbus early this morning.
Lowndes County Coroner Greg Merchant told The Dispatch that Dshawn Dee Boyd, an 18-year-old black male found near the 1800 block of Eighth Avenue South, died from gunshot wounds.
Columbus Fire and Rescue spokesman Anthony Colom said the department responded to a grass fire near the intersection of Eighth Ave. South and 22nd Street South at about 1:11 a.m. He said a battalion chief and a police officer noticed a burned car while at the scene and soon discovered the body nearby.
Colom said police will also try to determine if the fire was arson.
Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies arrested Boyd on Nov. 14 for possession of a stolen firearm, possession of marijuana and disobeying a traffic control device.
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