A shooting in a Buckhead parking lot killed one man and sent two others — including music executive Chaka Zulu — to a hospital with injuries late Sunday night.
Atlanta police investigated the triple shooting in the 2200 block of Peachtree Road into the early Monday morning hours. Several restaurants and shops share the parking lot, which is situated behind a row of businesses and off the busy street.
Police Lt. Germain Dearlove told Channel 2 Action News the shooting was the “result of a dispute in the parking lot,” but he did not say if the three victims had visited any of the businesses before the gunfire rang out around 11:35 p.m.
The men were all taken to hospitals, where one was pronounced dead. He was later identified by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office as 23-year-old Artez Benton of Scottdale.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Monday afternoon, Atlanta police confirmed one of the two injured men was Chaka Zulu, the longtime manager of musician Ludacris. The conditions of Zulu and the other man were not released.
In a statement to Channel 2, former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said Zulu was stable.
“We are fortunate to report that Chaka Zulu is in stable condition and recovering,” Reed said. “The family thanks everyone for their well wishes and prayers, and asks for their privacy at this time.”
Investigators were still combing through surveillance footage to identify a shooter, Dearlove told the news station from the scene Monday. No arrests had been made late Monday.
Celebrities were among those who turned to social media to wish Zulu a quick recovery.
“Prayers for Brother Chaka Zulu,” Questlove, frontman for The Roots, posted on Twitter.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
It was the second deadly shooting reported in Atlanta on Sunday night. Earlier in the evening, two women were shot at a Subway on Northside Drive after they argued with a customer over the amount of mayonnaise on his sandwich, police said.
One woman, identified by the medical examiner’s office as 26-year-old Brittany Macon, was killed, and the other was taken into surgery at a hospital. She was listed in critical condition Monday.
From the scene of the Subway investigation, interim police Chief Darin Schierbaum called the shooting “a senseless tragedy.”
“We need individuals to talk out their disputes, walk away and do not pick up guns,” Schierbaum told Channel 2. “We can take down drug operations that breed violent crime, we can dismantle gang organizations that breed violent crime, we can stop robbery crews that breed violent crime. We cannot stop someone who is mad because there is too much mayonnaise on their sandwich.”
A 36-year-old man, whose name was not released, was later arrested in that case. No arrests have been made public in the Peachtree Road incident.
Police are asking anyone with information on either shooting to come forward. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
