John Jefferson
At least four people were shot at a downtown Atlanta food court following an argument, police say.
One of the people shot was the suspect, according to Atlanta police. The other three victims were alert, conscious and breathing.
The terrifying scene unfolded around 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Peachtree Center in downtown Atlanta. Officers rushed to the scene after reports of people being shot. Numerous police officers could be seen at the building an hour after the shooting.
Officials have not released the names of the people injured in the shooting. They were identified as a 47-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman.
The suspect has only been identified as a 34-year-old convicted felon. Police said the person got into an argument with another. He shot the person he was arguing with and kept firing.
A police officer then opened fire and wounded the suspect.
Witness recounted the shooting to local news stations.
“I hear one shot and then I’m thinking somebody dropped something, and then I hear another shot and another shot and another shot,” witness Kemba Walker Jr. told WSB-TV. “And then I see people scattering, running around.”
Walker said he pulled his girlfriend into a backroom inside the Passport Office in the building and someone was lying on the ground. He said the shooting went on for about 25 to 30 minutes and he heard about 25 gunshots.
The Peachtree Center reed on lockdown hours after the shooting and people were asked to avoid the area. Atlanta police and firefighters were at scene and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to help.
The center is home to six office towers and a mall.
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