Georgia bartender seen kidnapped on surveillance video is found dead hours later: Person of interest is taken into custody after a high-speed car chase

A Georgia bartender has been found dead hours after surveillance video captured the moment she was kidnapped while walking up to her home, as police announced a person of interest was taken into custody after he led cops on a high-speed car chase.

Mariam Abdulrab, 27, had ended her shift at Revery VR Bar early Friday morning and stopped at a gas station on her way home when she was followed and kidnapped while walking up to her front door, her friend Elisha Kim posted on Facebook.

Abdulrab was kidnapped between 4.30am and 5am on Friday outside her home near Grant Park in southeast Atlanta, Kim's post indicated.

The Atlanta Police Department said cops were called to 501 Burroughs Street around 5am when the 911 caller said she had been forced into a car. Surveillance footage obtained by WGCL-TV purports to show Abdulrab forced to get into the SUV.

Mariam Abdulrab, 27, had ended her shift at Revery VR Bar early Friday morning and stopped at a gas station on her way home

Surveillance footage obtained by WGCL-TV purports to show Abdulrab forced to get into the SUV as she was kidnapped outside her home

An hour later, cops responded to a call reporting shots had been fired nearby but found nothing in the area. Her body was later found near 1907 Lakewood Avenue in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood by a witness who called police around 9.55am.

Investigators named Demarcus Brinkley, 27, as a person of interest and he was taken into custody in Griffin by the Georgia State Patrol.

Before his arrest, Brinkley allegedly led cops on a high-speed car chase that ended when he wrecked his blue 2013 Chevrolet Equinox into gold Buick, witness video posted to Facebook shows. 

He is currently being held on traffic charges while the investigation into the kidnapping and homicide remains 'very active,' the Atlanta Police Department said.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Georgia State Patrol for more information and additional comment. 

Officials told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Brinkley and the driver of the Buick were taken by helicopter to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment. His condition, and that of the other driver, were not immediately known.

Abdulrab was kidnapped between 4:30am and 5am on Friday outside her home near Grant Park in southeast Atlanta

Her body was later found near 1907 Lakewood Avenue in the Lakewood Heights neighborhood by a witness who called police around 9:55am

Abdulrab's family members and friends have mourned her loss, calling her 'peaceful' and a 'living jewel'

The Revery VR Bar where Abdulrab worked said that it would remain closed through the weekend for the staff to grieve.

'Our hearts are truly broken at the loss of a dear friend and family member. Mariam brought light to every single person she came in contact with and will forever be missed,' the bar posted to Instagram.

'We will be closed this weekend to grieve and savor our last moments with her. Please stay safe, y'all.' 

Investigators named Demarcus Brinkley, 27, as a person of interest and he was taken into custody in Griffin by the Georgia State Patrol

The Buick's front end is seen busted in after the high-speed chase ended in an accident

Abdulrab's family members and friends have mourned her loss, calling her 'peaceful' and a 'living jewel.'

'My daughter was the most peaceful and loving person. She did not deserve this,' Khalid Abdulrab told WXIA-TV.

Grant Henry, who owns a bar known in brief as 'Church' where Abdulrab sometimes worked, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that she was a member of the bar's 'family.'

'Mariam was a living jewel. She shone,' said Henry, whose bar's name is Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium.

Henry added: 'We are all family. As if the pandemic wasn't enough, to lose a family member is even worse.' 

Before his arrest, Brinkley allegedly led cops on a high-speed car chase that ended when he wrecked his blue 2013 Chevrolet Equinox into gold Buick

A video posted to Facebook by a witness shows investigators at the scene after the crash

Data from the Atlanta Police Department shows that there have been at least 90 murders in the city this year by August 7. That number was up 13% from the 80 murders by the same date in 2020. There were only 57 murders by August 7 in 2019.

The number of murders for week of August 1 to August 7, the most recent report available, were up a startling 500% from the previous week, the data shows.

Data shows that there have been 477 shooting incidents in 2021 as of August 7, up 32 percent from the 362 shootings in 2020. There were just 291 shooting incidents in 2019.

There have been a total of 540 shooting victims this year, including those who did not die from their injuries. That number was up 13 percent from the 476 shooting victims in 2020, the data shows.

There were just 359 shooting victims by August 7, 2019.

The Atlanta Police Department has actually recovered fewer guns this year than in the previous two years, the data shows.

Cops have recovered just 962 weapons this year compared to 1,195 in 2020 and 1,200 in 2019. 

Local resident Harry Hamilton told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he has been going to the neighborhood where Abdulrab's body was found since 1972.

'It's shocking that it happened, but this has been an area of questionable character for many years,' Hamilton said. 

'But I've never really experienced any violence of this nature - it's becoming more commonplace, so it almost goes by like, "Oh well".'