A list of recent shootings at metro Atlanta shopping centers

May 2024 · 14 minute read

Samarrh Roshanik Norris, 17, of Jonesboro, was taken into custody, Morrow police said. She was charged with kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated assault and participation in criminal gang activity, according to Clayton County jail records.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was considered stable after being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, police said.

June 7: Two women were injured when shots rang out at a parking lot carnival outside Alpharetta’s North Point Mall, sending crowds of teenagers and families running for cover.

One of the victims, described as a “young adult female,” was taken to a hospital by helicopter and the other by ambulance, according to Alpharetta police Lt. David Freeman. Their conditions were not released.

The suspected shooter ran from the scene and was gone by the time officers and fire crews arrived on North Point Parkway shortly after 7 p.m. A gun was found on the ground near two carnival rides.

April 26: A security guard was arrested after shooting a man at Greenbriar Mall, police said.

Diquan Carter, 27, a private security guard working inside a retail store, was detained following the shooting, which shut down the entire southwest Atlanta shopping mall as police investigated. He faces charges of aggravated assault and theft by receiving, a felony, according to authorities.

Around 3:30 p.m., an Atlanta police officer working an extra job at the mall on Greenbriar Parkway called for backup after hearing the shots. More 911 calls came in as additional officers were responding to the location, police said in a statement.

Jan. 6: Two people were injured in a shooting inside Perimeter Mall, authorities said.

Dunwoody police received a call about shots fired in the DeKalb County mall’s food court at about 4:45 p.m., spokesman Sgt. Michael Cheek told reporters at the scene. The conditions of the victim and suspect were not released.

Oct. 20: A dispute at the Mall at Stonecrest escalated into an afternoon shooting that resulted in a man suffering a graze wound, DeKalb County police said.

Officers were called to the mall in reference to a non-fatal shooting, police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said. An argument between two men inside the mall led to the incident, she said.

Oct. 19: A woman was injured after being caught between two feuding groups who exchanged gunfire while driving through Atlantic Station, according to police.

Atlanta officers were called about a person shot at the intersection of 17th and State streets around midnight, police said. When they got there, they found a woman with multiple gunshot wounds. She was described as alert and taken to a hospital.

Oct. 8: A woman was caught in the crossfire when two groups began shooting at each other at Atlantic Station, police said.

Atlanta officers were called to the popular Midtown shopping and dining district after a person was reported shot on 19th Street shortly before midnight. They found the woman with a gunshot wound to her leg, and she was alert when she was taken to a hospital, police said in a statement.

Investigators believe gunfire erupted between separate groups of men, and she was an innocent bystander.

Credit: Jefferson High School Football

icon to expand image

Credit: Jefferson High School Football

Oct. 5: Elijah DeWitt, 18, was found dead in the parking lot of Sugarloaf Mills near Dave & Buster’s, Gwinnett police spokeswoman Officer Hideshi Valle said. Police believe he was shot multiple times shortly after 8:15 p.m.

Chandler Zion Richardson, 19, and Kemare Matthew Bryan, 18, both of Lawrenceville, were later arrested early 100 miles away in Anderson, South Carolina. They were booked into the Gwinnett jail on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in DeWitt’s death and denied bond at their first court appearances.

July 31: Authorities are looking for multiple suspects after a 16-year-old boy was shot at a Douglas County mall, police said.

Officers were called to the parking lot of Arbor Place along Douglas Boulevard about 6:30 p.m. and found the teenager shot in the leg, according to police. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspects fled the scene immediately after the incident, authorities said.

July 14: A shootout in the Southlake Mall parking lot sent one person to a hospital after two men tried to steal a car, police said.

The victim and the suspects exchanged gunfire outside the Southlake Parkway shopping mall at about 7:15 p.m., according to Morrow police. The victim was the only one reported injured, and his injuries were not considered life-threatening.

According to police, investigators believe the trouble started inside the mall when the two men robbed another man of his car keys.

Credit: NewsChopper2

icon to expand image

Credit: NewsChopper2

July 6: Officers were called to Emory Commons shopping center on North Decatur Road for reports of a shooting, DeKalb County police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said. At the scene, police found a man in his car dead from a gunshot wound.

The victim was later identified as Lewayne Terrell, 43, the DeKalb Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed.

Multiple witnesses at the scene said the man was shot while sitting in his car, Channel 2 Action News reported. Several expressed shock at the brazenness of the shooting, which took place around midday in the shopping center’s busy parking lot.

Hours later, police responded to a shooting at a Douglasville shopping center coincidentally called Douglas Commons. In the parking lot of the shopping center, this one anchored by a Kroger, they found a man who had also been shot in his car, Douglasville police confirmed.

June 10: Police were called to Fletcher’s Place, a restaurant at the Gallery at South DeKalb, shortly before 11:30 p.m. after an argument over a woman escalated into gunfire, police said. One of the four men shot, 48-year-old Daletavios McGuire, died the following day. The other three were critically injured.

A customer got into an argument with an employee or another patron and began shooting, investigators told Channel 2 Action News. The shooting may have spilled into the parking lot, as several cars were riddled with bullet holes, the news station reported.

Dec. 19, 2021: A dispute over a seat led to shots being fired inside the movie theater at Phipps Plaza, according to Atlanta police.

Officers were called to the theater around 10:45 p.m. and found one victim with a gunshot wound, according to a police spokesman.

“The preliminary investigation found that the victim was involved in a dispute with the suspect about seat assignments in the theater,” Officer Steve Avery said in a statement. “During the argument, the suspect shot the victim.”

Sept. 10, 2021: Two men suspected of burglarizing a car at a busy Buckhead shopping plaza were shot when the vehicle’s owner returned to find them inside it, police said.

A 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene and a second man was injured while running away, according to Atlanta police Deputy Chief Timothy Peek.

The teenager killed was identified as Atlanta resident Dontavious Cobb, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Aug. 17, 2021: Sandy Springs officers investigated a homicide at the Orchard Park Shopping Center along Dunwoody Club Drive. Investigators believe the incident started as a drug transaction.

Yemi Ezekiel Mabiaku, 22, of Atlanta died and a second man, whose name was not released, was also injured. Two men were charged in the killing, according to police.

Cortney Demar White, 35, contacted authorities to turn himself and was arrested on charges of murder, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to murder, and aggravated battery.

A second man, 25-year-old Devonte Lavonne Childs, was also charged but has not been located. His charges include murder, aggravated assault with intent to murder and multiple gun counts, according to police.

Aug. 16, 2021: A man was shot as he exited Lenox Square in the evening. He was taken to the hospital in a private car after the shooter fled the scene in a dark sedan, Atlanta police said.

The injured man, who was not identified by police, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital following the shooting around 6 p.m., Atlanta police said in a news release. Officers were sent to Grady where the man was being treated and he told them that the shooting had taken place at Lenox Square.

July 19, 2021: A man attempting to shoplift inside the Macy’s at Perimeter Mall is accused of shooting at a loss prevention officer, according to Dunwoody police.

The man was taken into custody about a half-hour after the incident, which happened around 12:45 p.m. outside of the Macy’s store, Dunwoody police said. The loss prevention officer said the man was suspected of shoplifting from the Sunglass Hut store, police spokesman Sgt. Robert Parsons told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The loss prevention officer followed the man out of the store, but the suspect started shooting and ran away, police said. No one was injured during the incident, Parsons said.

June 27, 2021: Police are investigating after a pair of jewelry thieves fired shots into a glass case during a heist at The Gallery at South DeKalb, officials said.

DeKalb investigators said two men entered a jewelry store and fired rounds into a glass case before fleeing with multiple pieces of jewelry. No one inside the mall was injured by the gunfire, which was reported about 1:40 p.m. during peak business hours, DeKalb police said.

June 17, 2021: Investigators are searching for a man who robbed an Arbor Place jewelry store at gunpoint.

The robbery targeted Ice Jewelry in the Douglas County mall, where the man pointed a handgun at a store employee and demanded a specific watch, Douglasville police said in a Facebook post. The man left with the watch and fled in a black Dodge Charger with a dealer tag from Atlanta Luxury Motors, a used car dealership with franchises across the Atlanta metro area.

June 13, 2021: Investigators believe two teenagers attempted to rob a Lenox Square security guard and then shot him, leaving him critically injured, Atlanta police said.

Days afterward, the guard was recovering from his injuries. The two 15-year-old suspects were taken into custody at a youth detention center, according to police.

The suspects, whose names were not released, were arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, according to Atlanta police. The teenagers, a boy and a girl, are also facing charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and weapons offenses.

June 10, 2021: A verbal altercation between two groups inside Southlake Mall in Morrow boiled over into the parking lot before erupting in gunfire and sending one man to the hospital, police said.

Seven people were detained after more than two dozen shots were fired outside of Macy’s just before 2:30 p.m., Morrow police spokesman Detective Eli Skelton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A 28-year-old man was hit in the inner thigh and was taken to the hospital. Three people were treated on scene for anxiety attacks and released, Skelton said.

Later that evening, Cody Wilson, a 19-year-old from Paulding County, was arrested and faces a felony weapons charge related to the incident.

June 8, 2021: Two men were shot after an argument inside Greenbriar Mall spilled into the parking lot, Atlanta police said.

The victims told police the gunman first confronted them inside the southwest Atlanta mall before following them to their vehicle and firing multiple shots. Both were found with a single gunshot wound when officers responded shortly after 5 p.m.

The men were stable when they were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, according to the police department.

Credit: NewsChopper 2

icon to expand image

Credit: NewsChopper 2

May 17, 2021: Atlanta police were investigating a shooting that left a man injured near Atlantic Station.

Officers responded to a shooting call just before 4 p.m. near Dillard’s at the mixed-use development in Midtown, police said in a news release.

At the scene, officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. The man, who was conscious, was taken to the hospital. Atlanta police did not release his name.

A Mercedes-Benz SUV that was involved in the incident had a huge hole in the driver’s-side window and what appeared to be a bullet hole in the front windshield, Channel 2 Action News reported. A Toyota RAV-4 just a few feet away was also damaged, but it wasn’t clear if that was caused by gunfire or a crash.

May 6, 2021: Cobb County police were called to Town Center mall about 3:20 p.m. After an initial investigation, Cobb police determined a jewelry store was robbed by three masked suspects, who fled the scene before officers arrived.

Shots were fired inside the mall, backing up what several witnesses said they heard. A store employee suffered a non-life-threatening injury after being shot, police confirmed.

The robbery crew made off with $350,000 worth of Rolex watches, according to an arrest warrant for one of the suspects.

May 1, 2021: Investigators believe an argument escalated to gunfire at a southeast Atlanta shopping plaza. Three teenagers were shot, killing a 15-year-old girl, police said.

Around 10 p.m., a 911 caller reported that the three had been shot near a Waffle House at the Glenwood Park shopping plaza. The other teens who were shot were stable when they were taken to a hospital, but the 15-year-old, Diamond Johnson, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

March 23, 2021: A shootout between two cars in a parking lot outside of Cumberland Mall and resulted in four people being injured, including a 6-year-old. Three teenagers who were involved in the exchange of gunfire were also injured and later arrested, police said.

Karanji Reese, 18, Jokava Harris, 19, and Desean Powell, 19, are all facing drug and weapons charges. Harris is also facing one count of reckless conduct after police said he fired a gun in the parking lot.

Credit: Abusaid, Shaddi (AJC-Atlanta)

icon to expand image

Credit: Abusaid, Shaddi (AJC-Atlanta)

Dec. 21, 2020: Kennedy Maxie had been shopping with her mother and aunt and was riding in the car in near Phipps Plaza when she was shot. The 7-year-old died five days later. Kennedy’s aunt told detectives she heard the gunfire while driving along Peachtree Road near Phipps. Moments later, she realized Kennedy had been struck and drove straight to the hospital, where the little girl was rushed into surgery. In January, a Virginia man was arrested and charged with Kennedy’s murder.

Dec. 19, 2020: A fight between two women led to a shooting at Arbor Place mall, Douglasville police said. Nobody was struck by the gunfire, but at least one person was injured after falling while running away, Douglasville police Maj. J.R. Davidson said. No one was in custody hours after the incident.

Dec. 5, 2020: Shoppers reported hearing a gunshot inside the Neiman Marcus store at Lenox Square around 6 p.m., according to Atlanta police. Investigators now say the incident was an accident and they don’t believe anyone was struck.

It was initially believed there may have been a dispute that led to the shooting. But police later said a man was walking through the store and adjusting his pants when the firearm he had in his waistband discharged, according to Sgt. John Chafee. No one was injured by the bullet.

Nov. 28, 2020: A massive brawl broke out at Atlantic Station, where about 300 teens were gathered near the bowling alley. When officers tried to disperse the clusters of teens, several “became defiant and more disorderly, engaging in more fistfights,” the Atlanta police report said.

One teen was beaten and punched until he lost consciousness, police confirmed. When he fell to the ground, another teen repeatedly stomped on his head, the report said.

A 15-year-old who police identified as the primary aggressor was detained and charged with aggravated assault. He was not named due to his age.

ExplorePolice increasing patrols at Lenox Square after latest shooting

Nov. 20, 2020: Investigators believe a fight inside the newly opened Apple store inside Lenox Square escalated to gunfire, sending one man to the hospital.

Officers responded to a person shot call and found a man with a gunshot wound to his buttocks inside the store around 3 p.m. The store had just opened after relocating from another location within the mall.

Bullets from the shooting went as far as shattering the window of a MARTA bus stop across the shopping plaza’s parking lot. Investigators are searching for suspects.

Credit: NewsChopper 2

icon to expand image

Credit: NewsChopper 2

Oct. 16, 2020: A man being robbed at the cash register inside Neiman Marcus at Lenox Square pulled a gun and fired shots, according to Atlanta police.

Then, the man helped identify two of the people who tried to rob him, according to Officer TaSheena Brown. That’s when investigators realized the robbery victim was wanted for a prior crime.

Three people, including the alleged victim, were arrested and charged after the incident.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7orbCZ5qopV%2Bjsri%2Fjppkr6GfobKvwIyynJqqXZbBbrnEramoZZGpuaK605pkrKCfpb2qusZmmp6mpJq%2FtHnIp5qlrZSawG6%2Fx6imraGenMBussign62rX4eVlJGofX9%2Bh3Z3mJuPr3tub3%2BHgKKOjaaSZg%3D%3D