Arrest made in man’s fatal shooting at Midtown MARTA station

A man was arrested following a deadly shooting at the Arts Center MARTA station Sunday night.

Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC

Credit: Seeger Gray / AJC

A man was arrested following a deadly shooting at the Arts Center MARTA station Sunday night.

A man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a deadly shooting at a Midtown MARTA station over the weekend, officials said.

The gunfire erupted around 9 p.m. Sunday at the Arts Center station, where a MARTA security officer found Demarco Mathis, 45, suffering from several gunshot wounds on the bus loop, according to officials.

Officers rendered aid to Mathis, who later died at the hospital.

Detectives had said they were working to identify a shooter, who fled the scene before officers arrived. Following an investigation, arrest warrants were secured for 38-year-old Xavier Mosley the next day.

On Wednesday, officers with MARTA and Atlanta police arrested Mosley at his residence in Atlanta. He was booked into the Fulton County Jail on charges of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

“We appreciate our partnership with the Atlanta Police Department,” MARTA police Chief Scott Kreher wrote in a statement. “This is a great example of how local agencies collaborate to achieve the common goal of keeping our communities safe.”

MARTA police have worked 10 shootings so far this year, but this was the only one to occur at the Arts Center station, located less than a mile west of Piedmont Park, department spokesperson Sgt. Deneya Littles said. She said the station averages about 8,000 travelers each day.

According to agency data, there were five homicides on MARTA property in 2023 and 11 since 2018.

In May, two shootings occurred within five days of each other, including the killing of a 23-year-old man on an eastbound MARTA train between the Hamilton E. Holmes and Georgia World Congress Center/CNN Center stations. Multiple stabbing incidents were also reported at the Five Points station in January. Littles said aggravated assaults are the most common crime reported on MARTA property.

Mosley was previously arrested in Fulton County a decade ago on charges of aggravated assault, burglary, armed robbery and hijacking a motor vehicle, according to online records. He was incarcerated from 2014 to 2022, GDOC records show.

Officials said he will be permanently banned from MARTA.

— Staff writer Lexi Baker contributed to this article.