Community mourns football coach shot to death at southeast Atlanta townhome community

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Police said a man was shot to death at a southeast Atlanta townhome community on Thursday afternoon.

Around 2:32 p.m., Atlanta police responded to a shooting at 369 Skylar Way SE.

Officers reportedly found a 33-year-old man with a single gunshot wound in one of the townhomes. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not released the victim’s identity, but people who knew the victim identified him as Aaron Hines.

Lolitha Perry said Hines was a youth football coach for her son’s team, the Georgia Rattlers. Many knew him as Coach Ball.

“He loved the kids. He loved his family. He loved community,” Perry said. “He has literally spent more time in my son’s life than his own father has.”

Perry said Hines taught the kids more than football. He also coached them on life skills and advocated against gun violence.

“His tag line was peace and blessings. That was Coach Ball,” Perry said.

She said his presence will surely be missed on the football field, but never forgotten.

“I told my son, ‘When you’re out there playing, I want you to play from your heart, and I just want you to hear him, cause his impact is already here. It’s not going anywhere,’” Perry said.

Police said they’ve identified a person of interest and are working to determine if they were connected to the fatal shooting.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.