Man dead, gunman sought after shooting outside DeKalb mall
A man is dead after an overnight shooting outside a DeKalb County mall, officials said.
Police were called to the Mall at Stonecrest just before midnight after someone reported the man had been shot, according to DeKalb police spokesman Sgt. J.D. Spencer.
The gunfire erupted between the Stonecrest 16 movie theater and the Round One arcade. The man was found in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his back, Spencer said.
He was taken to a local hospital, where he died. The victim’s name has not been released.
“It was reported that several suspects shot the victim after a verbal dispute outside of Round One,” Spencer said.
No one is in custody at this time, but police are interviewing two persons of interest in connection with the shooting and are working to obtain surveillance video that might show the incident.
“Right now, we do have a couple of individuals at our police headquarters being interviewed,” DeKalb Investigator Lt. Matt Ferreira told Channel 2 Action News. “Their exact status is not something we are going to be able to comment on at this time, but they are being interviewed by detectives.”
An investigation is ongoing.
RELATED: Shots fired near the Mall at Stonecrest in DeKalb County
The fatal shooting comes nearly four years after gunfire caused panic and led shoppers to evacuate the mall the day after Christmas.
Gunfire rang out near the mall about 4 p.m. Dec. 26, 2015, AJC.com previously reported. Investigators said the shooting was the result of a confrontation between two groups of teenagers.
MORE: The Mall at Stonecrest: calm after the shooting
Several stores were put on lockdown after the shots started, and shoppers frantically made their way toward exits. No one was injured, and there were no arrests made.
About the Author
Asia Simone Burns is a watchdog reporter for the AJC. Burns was formerly an intern in AJC’s newsroom and now writes about crime. She is a graduate of Samford University and has previously reported for NPR and WABE, Atlanta’s NPR member station.
