1 injured, 7 detained in shooting outside Southlake Mall

A verbal altercation between two groups inside Southlake Mall in Morrow boiled over Thursday afternoon, moving to the parking lot before erupting in gunfire and sending one man to the hospital, police said.

Seven people were detained after more than two dozen shots were fired outside of Macy’s just before 2:30 p.m., Morrow police spokesman Detective Eli Skelton told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A 28-year-old man was hit in the inner thigh and was taken to the hospital. Three people were treated on scene for anxiety attacks and released, Skelton said.

It’s not clear what started the altercation preceding the gunbattle, and no arrests had been made as the detainees were still being interviewed Thursday evening, Skelton said. He credited a fast police response with bringing a quick end to the shooting and allowing officers to detain so many people on the scene.

Officers from both the Clayton County and Morrow police departments responded to the call.

Several people posted about the incident on social media, including a Twitter user who posted a photo from the scene showing multiple ambulances in the mall parking lot.