Pizza Hut employee dies from injuries after shooting

By Joel Anderson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Joshua McColley found his former girlfriend cowering in the back of the Pizza Hut and aimed a .38-caliber revolver at her, police said.

She begged him not to hurt her: McColley had already shot her co-worker and left him in a pool of blood behind the store's front counter. He obliged her plea and turned the gun on himself.

In the end, her life was the only one spared.

McColley, 23, fatally shot himself at the south DeKalb County pizza store Saturday morning, and Pizza Hut employee Samuel Wallace died from his injuries Monday, according to DeKalb police.

Wallace, 34, was shot twice following a brief confrontation with McColley and was "unconscious and unresponsive" when emergency responders arrived at the store. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he later died.

“We are very saddened by the loss of our team member,” Pizza Hut spokesman Chris Fuller said.  “We are appreciative of the outpouring of support we’ve received from the community.  Our hearts and prayers go out to Samuel’s family.”

The store, at Covington Highway at Wesley Chapel Road, reopened Tuesday morning. One of the store's employees said McColley's 23-year-old ex-girlfriend, who had been a cashier, was transferred to another store.

Reached at her Stone Mountain home Tuesday afternoon, the woman said she had not been told Wallace died from his injuries. "I don't think I can talk about this," she said, before declining further comment and shutting the front door.

According to detectives, McColley came to the store around 11:30 a.m. to confront his ex-girlfriend. Wallace took McColley's order at the front counter, police said.

Wallace then tried to climb over the counter, and McColley shot him twice with his revolver, according to the incident report. It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the confrontation. McColley then tracked down his girlfriend at the back of the store and brandished his weapon.

When McColley pointed the gun at himself, a customer entered the store and the woman went to the front to speak with her.

The woman tried to whisper to the customer to call the police, according to the report. Then, both women heard a loud bang.

When authorities arrived at the scene, McColley and Wallace were "unconscious and unresponsive" and lying in their own pools of blood.

Attempts to contact the family of Wallace, a married father of four, were unsuccessful Tuesday.

Mike Buss, franchisee of the store, said Pizza Hut will hold a memorial for family members and employees Friday morning. Pizza Hut has also been taking donations for Wallace's family under the name of Hut Family Helpers; customers can make a donation at any of the chain's 26 Atlanta-area stores.