Some of metro Atlanta’s busiest retail spots have become crime scenes in recent months, though the trend has slowed drastically.
A look at violence at local shopping centers:
March 10: A man was shot multiple times in the parking lot of Arbor Place mall in Douglasville, according to police.
Demetrius Forts, 32, was taken to a local hospital for treatment. His girlfriend, Porsona Lashelle Holland, 41, arrested the following day and charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
Jan. 27: A teenage boy died after being shot in a parking lot of a Gwinnett County shopping center, investigators said.
Police responded to Northside Hospital Duluth around 2:15 a.m. about a person who was shot. During the investigation, officers learned the victim, 17-year-old Elbert “Josh” Brown had been struck by gunfire in the parking lot of the Paragon Town Center at 4500 Satellite Boulevard near Duluth, police said.
Nov. 11: Three people were shot at a Brookhaven shopping complex, police said.
Shots were fired in the parking lot of the Sun Tan Shopping Center in the 2800 block of Buford Highway around 5:40 a.m. At the scene, officials confirmed the three victims were found suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Brookhaven police said they were taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.
Sept. 6: Customers at a Ross Dress for Less store ducked for cover when they were besieged by gunfire at a shopping center north of Decatur. The gunfire came from the direction of the parking lot around 10 p.m., just before the North Decatur Road store closed for the night.
DeKalb County police said a 20-year-old victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds but was rushed to a hospital and was expected to survive.
Other businesses in the plaza, including DeKalb Women’s Specialists and A Smile 4U Dentistry and Orthodontics, were damaged by the gunfire. The women’s clinic and dentist office are located near the bowling alley. Bullets also pierced the windows of a Nissan Sentra parked out front.
Aug. 5: Officers working security at the Sugarloaf Mills mall heard a few gunshots just after 7 p.m. and immediately ran toward the sound, authorities said. More officers quickly responded as mallgoers ran outside and began calling 911, fearing it was an active shooter.
No one was hurt by the gunfire, Gwinnett police said, but the incident was “frightening and caused immediate panic among the patrons of the mall.”
July 17: A teenager has been arrested and police are seeking a second suspect after a shooting at Southlake Mall that sent a 17-year-old to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Samarrh Roshanik Norris, 17, of Jonesboro, was taken into custody, Morrow police said. She was charged with kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated assault and participation in criminal gang activity, according to Clayton County jail records.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was considered stable after being taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, police said.
June 7: Two women were injured when shots rang out at a parking lot carnival outside Alpharetta’s North Point Mall, sending crowds of teenagers and families running for cover.
One of the victims, described as a “young adult female,” was taken to a hospital by helicopter and the other by ambulance, according to Alpharetta police Lt. David Freeman. Their conditions were not released.
The suspected shooter ran from the scene and was gone by the time officers and fire crews arrived on North Point Parkway shortly after 7 p.m. A gun was found on the ground near two carnival rides.
April 26: A security guard was arrested after shooting a man at Greenbriar Mall, police said.
Diquan Carter, 27, a private security guard working inside a retail store, was detained following the shooting, which shut down the entire southwest Atlanta shopping mall as police investigated. He faces charges of aggravated assault and theft by receiving, a felony, according to authorities.
Around 3:30 p.m., an Atlanta police officer working an extra job at the mall on Greenbriar Parkway called for backup after hearing the shots. More 911 calls came in as additional officers were responding to the location, police said in a statement.
Jan. 6, 2023: Two people were injured in a shooting inside Perimeter Mall, authorities said.
Dunwoody police received a call about shots fired in the DeKalb County mall’s food court at about 4:45 p.m., spokesman Sgt. Michael Cheek told reporters at the scene. The conditions of the victim and suspect were not released.
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