SMYRNA, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) has released the identity of a man who was fatally shot early Friday morning during a police encounter involving a stolen U-Haul truck in Smyrna. Authorities confirmed the victim as 46-year-old Darrick Desawn Rooks of Marietta, Georgia.
According to the Smyrna Police Department, the incident began around 6:00 a.m. when an officer spotted a stolen U-Haul truck near McLinden Avenue and Concord Road SE. Officers initiated a felony traffic stop and issued repeated commands for the driver to exit the vehicle. Moments later, a gunshot was fired from inside the truck, prompting officers to return fire. When police approached the vehicle, they found Rooks deceased from a gunshot wound. No officers were injured during the exchange.
The GBI has launched an independent investigation into the shooting to determine the full sequence of events, including who fired the first shot and whether a firearm was recovered inside the truck. Investigators later learned that the U-Haul had been reported stolen a day earlier. A contractor with U-Haul told FOX 5 Atlanta that the vehicle had been rented by a woman earlier in the month and was due to be returned by October 8, but it was never brought back. It remains unclear how Rooks came into possession of the truck.
Rooks’ fiancée, Chantriece Marrow, spoke emotionally to reporters, explaining that the couple had been living in the truck while experiencing homelessness. She said Rooks had left that morning to donate plasma when the fatal encounter occurred. Marrow expressed disbelief that Rooks would have shot at officers, stating, “I got a voicemail. I heard everything before he took his last breath. He kept saying, ‘Help me. Somebody help me.’”
Smyrna Police Lt. Meredith Holt said the incident underscores the unpredictable and dangerous nature of early morning traffic stops. “Traffic stops can be very uncertain, especially before daylight,” Holt noted. “You never know what you’re going to find when you walk up to a vehicle.” Rooks’ body is now undergoing an autopsy at the Cobb County Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm the official cause of death.
Once the GBI completes its investigation, the findings will be turned over to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office for review. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fatal encounter as the community seeks answers about what led to the deadly exchange.