Atlanta police officers investigating a shooting that injured a KFC employee on Wednesday night were called away from the crime scene when a barrage of gunfire rang out nearby.
They turned the corner from the Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard chicken restaurant to find shell casings littering the pavement on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Car tires were blown out and the windows of a barbershop were shattered on the busy West Atlanta street, but no one was discovered injured.
Investigators believe the two shootings are connected, a police spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
The KFC employee was said to be in serious condition when he was rushed into surgery. The 61-year-old man was leaving work when he took gunfire at about 9:30 p.m., according to police.
Investigators believe two groups got into an argument near the restaurant before the shots were fired, and the worker was not the intended target. He was shot at least once, and the side of the building was also damaged, the spokesperson said in a statement.
The shooting on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive followed soon after. As many as 50 shell casings were marked by investigators at that scene overnight, Channel 2 Action News reported. No suspects have been identified Thursday.
Both crime scenes were on the outskirts of the Atlanta University Center, where four people, including three students, were injured in a shooting last week during a homecoming celebration.
According to police, shots were fired Oct. 16 from a car passing outside the university consortium’s Robert W. Woodruff Library, which is not considered to be part of Clark Atlanta University’s campus. The shooting scattered large crowds hanging out, listening to a DJ, after the school’s homecoming football game.
Video of the aftermath shared on social media shows people running in every direction and ducking for cover. All of the shooting victims — two Clark Atlanta students, another student and a fourth person — were expected to survive.
Can’t lie, CAU is long overdue for gates. pic.twitter.com/S10pUcUzv3
— JamariJonesATL (@JamariJones_ATL) October 16, 2022
Atlanta police on Thursday released new surveillance footage of the Clark Atlanta shooting and are renewing calls for witnesses to come forward. They believe the occupants of a gray or white BMW first fired shots near the intersection of Mildred and Parsons streets before firing again outside the library.
No arrests have been made in the case, according to police Lt. Paula Lyons.
In the wake of the shooting, Clark Atlanta police promised an increased presence and additional patrols by city police. Spelman and Morehouse colleges also upped their security measures ahead of their own homecoming celebrations.
“The safety of our students remains our top priority as we continue to work with the city of Atlanta for solutions to senseless violence impacting innocent students and residents,” Clark Atlanta police Chief Debra A. Williams said in a video released last week.
Those with information, including cellphone video, regarding any of the recent acts of violence are asked to contact Atlanta police. 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.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
