A man had to dodge bullets in a Lenox Square parking lot Sunday afternoon while fleeing two robbers who demanded his belongings, police said. He was one of at least two of the duo’s victims at the Buckhead mall.
Atlanta officers were called to the chaotic scene around 3 p.m. about a robbery in the mall parking lot. The incident occurred after the victim parked his car on the fourth floor near the Macy’s entrance and stepped out, police spokesman Anthony Grant said. He told officers a man approached him, pointed a gun and demanded his wallet. A second man in a white SUV then approached him as well, Grant added.
The victim immediately began to run and the robber started shooting, Grant said. The victim was not struck, but he dropped his wallet. The suspect picked it up and left in the SUV with the other man, according to Grant. The two remain at large.
In surveillance footage released Monday afternoon, a white car is shown stopped in the middle of a lane while the two seem to rob the victim. The victim, who appears to be wearing a white shirt, is seen running from the two men and dropping something from his pocket while sprinting toward the mall entrance.
Several people coming out of the mall are also shown running back inside as gunfire erupts. The suspected robbers then jump in the SUV and leave the lot.
While still on scene, officers learned that the two men tried to rob another victim at the mall. The second victim told police he was entering the mall when he noticed one of the suspects observing the parking lot. The suspect then approached him, but he was able to avoid him by quickly entering the mall.
One vehicle was damaged from apparent gunfire. The owner was inside when the bullets struck her car.
Just over a month ago, Lenox was the site of another parking lot shooting. On Aug. 16, a man was injured by gunfire during what police said was a “targeted” incident. That shooter fled before police arrived and remains at large.
In mid-June, the shooting of a security guard outside the Apple store in the mall shocked Buckhead residents. Two 15-year-olds were later arrested in the shooting, which happened after the mall had closed.
In response to the rise in crime in the area and several shootings on Lenox property, the mall implemented a youth supervision policy that requires anyone under 18 years old to be accompanied by their parent or an adult 21 or older after 3 p.m.
“Their (security) spending is exponentially up over two years ago,” said Atlanta Councilman Howard Shook, who represents Lenox’s district. “This is in keeping with sort of all these other changes they’ve made, which is to have the mall be a welcoming and positive experience.”
In 2020, there were at least six shootings at Lenox Square. Arrests have been made in the majority of those cases. The incidents prompted security measures such as a weapons detector at the mall’s main entrance, more than 900 cameras to monitor property and trained K-9 patrols.
Anyone with information on Sunday’s robberies is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, online at www.crimestoppersatlanta.org or by texting CSA and the tip to 274637.
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