1 dead in shootout near Atlanta University Center

One man is dead and another is in critical condition after a double shooting Thursday near the Atlanta University Center in Southwest Atlanta.

Allen Blash, 24, of Atlanta, died from gunshot wounds to his face and stomach, authorities said.

Atlanta police believe the shooting was drug related.

Around 4 p.m., police were called to a house on the 800 block of Beckwith Street and found two shooting victims in the foyer.

Homicide detective Lt. Keith Meadows said there were three men in the house, and at some point one of them produced a handgun.

A struggle ensued over the gun, and several shots were fired, hitting one man in the face and stomach, police said.

A second handgun also was discharged, said Meadows, striking a second victim in the stomach.

“We haven’t ruled out the possibility that they were victims of one another,” Meadows said.

Salik McKenzie, 32, will face felony murder and aggravated assault charges, Meadows said.

He remains in critical condition and under guarded police custody at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Meadows said investigators found a bag of marijuana in the hallway of the house.

Both victims were taken to Grady Hospital, one in an ambulance and the other in a Dodge Magnum vehicle with “New Money Entertainment” labels, said police.

By 5 p.m., police had set up a crime scene at Grady Hospital around the Dodge Magnum.

He said the third man, who lived in an adjacent house, was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

Police towed a van custom-painted with ‘New Money Entertainment” and “Lil’ Hot the Money Man,” saying there was reason to believe the van had something to do with the incident.

It’s unclear how “Lil’ Hot,” a rapper and self-described CEO of New Money Entertainment according to his MySpace page, is involved in the incident, if at all.

He could not be reached Thursday night through his MySpace page.

Police said no students from the surrounding campuses were involved in the shooting that happened just across the street from the AUC Consortium’s Robert W. Woodruff Library and Morehouse College’s Moss Suites residence Hall.