New Orleans evacuee slain in Chattanooga

Don Maurice Airline was found by a passer-by Saturday on a secluded road near Lookout Mountain, police spokesman Tetzel Tillery said. The South Chattanooga Recreation Center, which has been housing some Katrina evacuees, is less than a mile away.

Bishop Derrick Davis, who works with Chattanooga Disaster Rescue Efforts, Inc., said his group brought 55 evacuees from the New Orleans area, including Airline and seven family members, WTVC-TV of Chattanooga reported.

Airline had stayed at the shelter, but later moved into a nearby hotel.

Davis said Airline had received relief money from the American Red Cross, which could have made him a target of local criminals.

“I do know that it was a substantial amount, in hundreds, that could possibly make him a target,” Davis told WTVC. “There was some people that befriended him that may have been questionable.”

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Information from WTVC-TV, Chattanooga, http://www.newschannel9.com