A security guard has been arrested after shooting a man at Greenbriar Mall on Wednesday afternoon, 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.
The victim was shot twice in the arm and was said to be alert when taken to a hospital. An update on his condition was not provided Thursday, but the mall was open for regular business.
According to an incident report, the victim entered the undisclosed store to purchase jeans. The owner then told an employee to open a door that led to a private room so the victim could go inside, the report states. The victim started pushing on the door as it was opening slowly, which is when Carter allegedly told the customer not to push it and an argument ensued, officers noted in the report.
The owner told police the dispute never got physical, but it escalated after the victim told Carter to “come see about me,” the report states. That is when Carter pulled out a gun from his hoodie and shot the man, according to the report. The gun was later determined to have been stolen.
It was not clear if Carter had a license to be a security guard.
It’s not the first shooting to happen at Greenbriar. In June 2021, two men were shot after an argument inside the Atlanta mall spilled into the parking lot. The gunman confronted the victims inside before following them to their vehicle and firing multiple shots, police said. Both men were shot once.
