Henry County police need help identifying and tracking down a man they say injured four people, including an 8-year-old boy, after shooting a pellet gun outside a gas station and two restaurants last week.
Officers were called to a Sunoco on Jodeco Road in Jonesboro around 5:45 p.m. on June 10. There, they spoke with two women who said they were by the gas pumps when a black SUV with a temporary tag pulled into the parking lot, an incident report states. Someone in the vehicle then shot “some sort of BB gun” at the women, hitting one of them twice in the back.
Police later shared a still photo from surveillance footage showing a black Infiniti FX35.
Meagan Parker, the woman who was struck, told Channel 2 Action News on Thursday that she was still sore.
“My back was on fire,” she said. “It hurt so bad for about an hour and a half.”
The suspect sped away from the gas station, and within 10 minutes, police got a second call about a pellet gun shooting, this time at La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant on Jonesboro Road in McDonough.
Two women reported being struck, according to a second incident report.
They told officers they were sitting in the restaurant’s outside dining area when a man in a black SUV slowly drove by and asked “Is it good?” before pulling out what they described as a toy gun and began shooting, the report states.
One of the women was struck in the neck and the other was hit in her left eye, according to the report. Both said their injuries were not serious and that they were “just shaken up by the incident.”
After another few minutes, police were again called, this time to a Mellow Mushroom on Hudson Bridge Road in Stockbridge, according to a third incident report. Upon arrival, officers spoke with a man who said he was having dinner with his family when, like at the other locations, a man in a black SUV drove by and began shooting pellets.
The man told officers his 8-year-old son was hit in his ribs, the report states. While the boy didn’t need medical attention, the father told police he would press charges if the suspect is found.
The boy’s mother later posted a video of the injury to Facebook, saying it had been the boy’s 8th birthday dinner and asked the public to help with the investigation.
“I know how traumatic it was for me. I can’t imagine what it has done for him (the boy), and it was on his birthday!” Parker, the first victim, told Channel 2.
The suspect is facing terroristic threat charges, according to police. Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at 770-288-8494, the Henry County non-emergency dispatch at 770-957-9121, or text tips, photos or videos to 770-220-7009.
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