Atlanta police officer arrested after allegedly shooting his Lyft driver to death

An Atlanta police officer was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing his Lyft driver, Reginald Folks, 35, on Wednesday, May 15, according to a press release from the Atlanta Police Department.

Koby Minor, an officer with the Atlanta Police Department for nearly six years, resigned from the department after being arrested and charged with murder and aggravated assault. He is currently being held at the Fulton County Jail, according to jail records.

The minor was also placed on unpaid administrative leave. The department removed his firearm and it remains in APD custody.

At the time of his arrest, Minor was on unpaid administrative leave due to a previous drug-related arrest on Dec. 25, according to the APD news release and jail records.

People were fatally shot on South Fulton Parkway near Stonewall Tell Road in Union City, Ga., around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to The Atlantic Journal-Constitution.

Once Minor was taken into custody, he told authorities he ordered a Lyft while leaving the home of another Atlanta police officer, according to warrant documents obtained by The Atlantic Journal-Constitution. Folks then picked up Minor and he alleges Folks began speaking on the phone with someone in a different language.

Minor then asked Folks to stop so he could get out, but he did not stop. He alleges that at a red light he attempted to exit the vehicle but was unable, then said Folks turned around to try to reach the back seat.

Minor then told authorities he grabbed his gun and shot the driver three times. Minor then smashed the car window and escaped from the vehicle.

According to warrant documents obtained by The Atlantic Journal-Constitution, another driver stopped for Minor when they saw him waving his hand for help. This witness testified that at the time, Minor told him that Folks “was in a gay fraternity and was trying to recruit Minor into it and (he) thought he was getting kidnapped.” .

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Folks’ mother, Marchelle Folks, spoke to 11 Alive and said the family is “heartbroken” about “all of this.”

“He was my senior, 35 years,” she told 11 Alive. “I just spoke to him on Mother’s Day, and he had just talked to his brother for three hours.”

“(I’m) very proud of the man he became. Everywhere I went, people met him and liked him. He always met people he knew,” she added. “He was a nice guy, very outgoing. Reggie was pretty much the life of the party.”

“Our thoughts are with Mr. Folks’ loved ones as they deal with this unspeakable tragedy, and we have reached out to offer our support during this difficult time. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in any investigation and have permanently banned the rider’s account from the Lyft community,” a Lyft spokesperson shared with PEOPLE.

A representative for the Union City Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information Thursday.