A man who police said gunned down an on-duty mall security officer in Cobb County before shooting himself has died.
About 12:20 a.m. Saturday, police responding to a 911 call found the body of 23-year-old Zakeem Berry of Kennesaw in the roadway near a Red Lobster on George Busbee Parkway, Officer Mike Bowman with the Cobb County Police Department told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Red Lobster is near one of the main entrances to Town Center at Cobb, where Berry worked as a security officer.
“Security Officer Berry’s location at the time of this tragic incident was within the parameters of his routine security patrol,” mall management told the AJC in an emailed statement.
Berry was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where he died.
Police later found the suspect in the shooting at the Kroger at 3895 Cherokee St. with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Bowman said. That suspect, identified as 23-year-old Richard Holcomb of Rydal, Ga., was taken to the same hospital as Berry, but did not survive.
“We have no idea why the suspect shot the victim,” Bowman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In another emailed statement, Town Center at Cobb management said: “We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our sincere condolences go out to the family of the security officer involved in this incident. Mall management is working closely with the Cobb County Police to share any details that may assist in the investigation of this senseless crime that is extremely shocking to all of us.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call 770-499-3945.
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