A man was shot and critically wounded in southwest Atlanta early Tuesday, police said.

Atlanta police Capt. Van Hobbs told Channel 2 Action News that three men were sitting on a bench at a bus stop outside the CVS pharmacy on Metropolitan Parkway when they were approached by three other men.

The two groups exchanged words and the victim got off the bench and ran away. The gunman shot him three times in the back, Hobbs said. The victim was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.

The gunman and his two accomplices escaped.