What may have started as a fight inside Underground Atlanta led to deadly gunfire Monday afternoon. Hours later, one person was arrested in the death of a 22-year-old, police said.
Shortly before 4 p.m., officers were called to Alabama Street, where they found a man who had been shot multiple times, Capt. Paul Guerrucci with Atlanta police said. The victim, identified Tuesday as Mychal Fair of East Point, was transported to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died, Guerrucci said.
The area near Underground known for hosting the New Year’s Eve “peach drop” was circled with yellow crime tape during the hours after the shooting.
“It appears that the incident may have started inside Underground as an alteration that escalated into shooting,” Guerrucci said. “At this point, we have not established a motive.”
Late Monday, Atlanta police confirmed that one person was in custody. Brandon Barnes, 25, of Stone Mountain, was arrested and charged with murder, Officer John Chafee said.
Police plan to review footage from surveillance cameras in the area for additional information. It was not known if the victim knew the shooter prior to the altercation.
Lakita Evans, of Decatur, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she saw a physical fight between two men before hearing five gunshots. Then, she saw the victim fall.
“He collapsed coming up the stairs trying to leave,” Evans said.
Evans was among the witnesses describing for investigators what she saw.
Several police jurisdictions overlap the area around Underground, including Atlanta, MARTA and Georgia State University police, Guerrucci said. Underground Atlanta also has security guards, he said.
No homicides have been reported in the area in recent months. But in December, a 24-year-old Atlanta man was shot to death near Kenny’s Alley, an entertainment district near Underground.
Carlos Antonio Glenn, 24, of Atlanta, died after being shot in the chest on Alabama Street, The AJC previously reported. A week later, an arrest was made in the case. Mathew Nicholas Copeland, 25, remains in the Fulton County jail, where he being held on murder, aggravated assault and several other charges, records show.
—Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
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