A shot rang out inside a Buckhead movie theater Monday night after two people got into an argument over seat assignments at a showing of “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” police said.
Atlanta police are investigating the shooting at the AMC Phipps Plaza 14 on Peachtree Road, where moviegoers select their seats when purchasing tickets. Officers were called to the theater around 10:45 p.m. and found one victim with a gunshot wound, according to a police spokesman.
“The preliminary investigation found that the victim was involved in a dispute with the suspect about seat assignments in the theater,” Officer Steve Avery said in a statement. “During the argument, the suspect shot the victim.”
The suspect was gone by the time officers arrived, he said, and the victim was stable when he was taken to a hospital.
In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Atlanta police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton said investigators were releasing video footage and still photos of two people “significantly involved in this incident.” A photo of the two people showed a man wearing a black, puffy jacket over a white hoodie. Accompanying him was a woman with long black hair wearing a beanie hat, jeans and a blue color-blocked sweatshirt.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Investigators are following up on some “significant leads” in the case, Hampton said.
A video shared by ATL Scoop shows crime scene tape blocking off one theater as police officers and an AMC employee stand outside.
The shooting comes nearly one year to the day a bullet fired from the Phipps Plaza parking lot killed 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie, whose family was driving near the mall while on a Christmas shopping outing. Investigators do not believe the family’s Lexus was the intended target of the Dec. 21, 2020, shooting, which stemmed from an argument between several men in the parking lot of Saks Fifth Avenue.
Earlier Monday, Atlanta police investigated another shooting in Buckhead. Officers were called around 7:40 p.m. to the Lindbergh Center MARTA station on Piedmont Road, where they were told a man had been shot multiple times and taken to a hospital in a private vehicle.
The man was stable when he arrived at the hospital. According to MARTA authorities, the gunfire did not impact operations at the transit station.
The man suspected in the shooting could be seen in security video footage released by Atlanta police wearing a distinctive red, puffy jacket.
The incident took the victim by surprise, according to Hampton. The injured man told police that the suspect approached him from behind “in an aggressive manner,” Hampton said. An argument ensued, and the two men can be seen moving out of the camera’s view. The moment of the shooting was not captured on the video footage.
Credit: Atlanta Police Department
The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation, Hampton said Tuesday afternoon.
Hampton finished with a plea to residents and visitors around Atlanta to practice better conflict resolution.
“Walk away,” he said. “Leave your guns at home. People want to leave their homes and celebrate, and we want them to do that as well.”
Anyone with information about either shooting is asked to come forward. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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