diff --git a/src/freedreno/drm/freedreno_bo.c b/src/freedreno/drm/freedreno_bo.c
index 3f15f52e799..3c8ed16a59f 100644
--- a/src/freedreno/drm/freedreno_bo.c
+++ b/src/freedreno/drm/freedreno_bo.c
@@ -61,15 +61,12 @@ lookup_bo(struct hash_table *tbl, uint32_t key)
        * remove an object it is about to free.  Fortunately since table
        * lookup and removal are protected by the same lock (and table
        * removal happens before obj free) we can easily detect this by
-       * checking for refcnt==0.
+       * checking for refcnt==0 (ie. 1 after p_atomic_inc_return).
        */
-      if (bo->refcnt == 0) {
+      if (p_atomic_inc_return(&bo->refcnt) == 1) {
          return &zombie;
       }
 
-      /* found, incr refcnt and return: */
-      fd_bo_ref(bo);
-
       if (!list_is_empty(&bo->node)) {
          mesa_logw("bo was in cache, size=%u, alloc_flags=0x%x\n",
                    bo->size, bo->alloc_flags);