The victim’s family says he was waiting for an Uber when a confrontation turned fatal.
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A 29-year-old man was shot and killed outside his apartment in Sandy Springs this week, and his mother said Thursday that he had been waiting for an Uber when a confrontation in the parking lot turned deadly.
The killing has drawn attention because of the witness accounts that followed it. Police say two brothers who lived at the same complex are now charged with murder and aggravated assault. Court records described one suspect’s claim of self-defense, but investigators said the victim was unarmed. For the family, the case moved in a matter of hours from shock to grief to funeral planning, while police continued sorting out what led to the gunfire.
Officers were called around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday to the Hudson Northridge apartments in the 550 block of Northridge Parkway, where they found Tucker shot in the parking lot. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. Police later identified two suspects as brothers Derrick Washington, 26, and Mason Washington, 20. Family members said Tucker had been waiting for a ride when he became caught up in an argument. His mother, Santina Dieng, described the loss in simple terms that carried the weight of sudden violence. “My son isn’t the only one that’s lost his life,” Dieng said. “They’ve lost their lives as well.”
Investigators said the confrontation began in the parking lot and ended with gunfire after an argument involving Tucker and the brothers. According to arrest records described by local outlets, Derrick Washington told officers he fired because he believed Tucker had a gun. Investigators said Tucker was not armed when he was found. Witnesses told police that Tucker had his hands up and was pleading for his life before shots were fired. One account described a second man appearing with a long gun during the encounter. Another witness, an Uber driver called to the complex, told detectives the victim begged for his life before the shooting. Police have not publicly explained what started the dispute, and that gap remains one of the central unanswered questions in the case.
For Tucker’s family, the public record only tells part of the story. Dieng said her son was ambitious and hoped to open a shoe store. She remembered him as someone who loved sneakers and talked about building something of his own. In television interviews, she spoke not about the argument in the parking lot, but about the life that existed before it. That context matters because homicide reports can quickly narrow a person to a case file, an age and a place on a map. Family members instead described a young man with plans, routines and a future that now has to be retold in the past tense. They also began raising money for funeral expenses as the criminal case moved ahead.
Police moved quickly after the shooting. Derrick Washington was arrested Tuesday night, and Mason Washington was later taken into custody. Both face murder and aggravated assault charges, and reports citing jail and warrant records said the case also includes a weapon charge. Detectives searched the brothers’ apartment and seized multiple firearms, according to a detailed local report based on court filings. No hearing date was included in the early public accounts, and authorities had not publicly laid out a full theory of motive by Thursday evening. The next major step is likely to be the first court appearances, followed by additional filings that could clarify each brother’s alleged role and whether prosecutors pursue the same counts against both men.
The scene left neighbors shaken. Some residents told reporters they were blocked from returning home for hours while officers searched the area. One woman said the police presence and the violence so close to home left her worried about children living in the complex. Her comments captured the wider mood around the case: fear, confusion and the uneasy feeling that an ordinary weeknight had turned into a homicide investigation in a place where people expected routine, not gunfire. For Tucker’s mother, that neighborhood fear sits alongside a more private grief. Her public remarks were brief, but they centered on loss, gratitude for the arrest and the hard work of laying her son to rest.
As of Thursday, both suspects were in custody and the investigation was continuing. The next milestone is expected to come in court, where charging documents and early hearings could provide a clearer account of what happened Tuesday night.
Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.