Dozens of law enforcement officers swarmed a Walmart in Riverdale after gunfire inside the store Thursday that sent a man to a hospital.
An 18-year-old suspect, identified by Riverdale police as Matthew Thomas Jr. of Hampton, fled the scene but was taken into custody Friday morning, authorities confirmed. After viewing surveillance footage, investigators believe the shooting was the result of an argument between Thomas and another man in the store’s meat section.
An off-duty police officer working an approved part-time job at the Walmart located at 7050 Ga. 85 reported hearing shots fired in the store just after 6 p.m., Riverdale police Chief Todd Spivey said. Officers from the Riverdale, Clayton County, Jonesboro and South Fulton police departments responded, along with agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and Fayette County sheriff’s deputies.
The responding law enforcement officers cleared the store, Spivey said, and one man was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound. He was not publicly identified, and the nature of his injuries was not disclosed.
Spivey said responding officers believe the suspected shooter ran from the store in the ensuing chaos. He was later identified as Thomas, who was booked into the Clayton jail shortly before 2 a.m. Friday on a charge of aggravated assault. No further details about Thomas’ arrest were released.
The store was considered an active crime scene for several hours overnight, and patrol cars remain positioned outside Friday morning.
It was the third shooting at a metro Atlanta grocery store in 48 hours. On Wednesday, deadly shootings sent police to the parking lots of a Publix in North Decatur and a Kroger in Douglasville.
The North Decatur shooting shocked shoppers going about their errands at midday. Witnesses told Channel 2 Action News that a man was killed while sitting in his car outside the Emory Commons Publix on North Decatur Road. He was identified by authorities as Lewayne Terrell, 43.
Few details have been released in that case, including what may have motivated the shooting.
In Douglasville, another man, 21, was shot and killed in his car shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday outside the Douglas Commons Kroger shopping center on Hospital Drive. His name was not released. According to Douglasville police, a “large amount” of suspected narcotics and cash was found at the crime scene.
Police have released a photo of a silver Toyota Camry believed to be the getaway car. At least two people involved in the shooting were seen leaving the parking lot in the vehicle, which may have been damaged by gunfire, investigators said.
— Staff writer Chelsea Prince contributed to this article.
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