The individual responsible for injuring three people in a downtown Atlanta food market with gunfire has been identified.
A 34-year-old man named Malone is being accused of hurting three people in a shooting that took place at Peachtree Center, a famous eatery in downtown Atlanta.
Residing in Morrow, Georgia, this individual has a past record of being a convict and he's had "11 previous arrest cycles," as per Atlanta's Chief of Police, Darin Schierbaum. According to Schierbaum, Malone must not have had the rights to own a weapon and should not have put the community in danger.
During the shooting at the food court, a police officer shot Malone before he was arrested. He was moved to a clinic but got discharged since then. Now, he's in Fulton County Jail due to charges including aggravated assault, reckless conduct, and more.
The victims are all recovering at a hospital. There's a 47-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman, and a 70-year-old woman. All of them are predicted to survive, as per the authorities.
At approximately 2:15 pm on a Tuesday, Malone entered the food court with a gun. He had a small argument with someone initially. Soon, he started to shoot that person, as per Schierbaum, who later clarified in a news conference that Malone physically assaulted that person before shooting. Then, he shot two more people in the food court.
The link between the first person Malone attacked and Malone remains unclear.
Peachtree Center, a major building with offices, eating places, retail outlets, and hotels in downtown Atlanta, has around 1.5 million square feet of space and it's home to 50 eating joints and stores.
The authorities put the area on lockdown after the incident but got it up and running by late afternoon on Tuesday, as per Atlanta's Mayor, Andre Dickens. Earlier, Dickens warned people to keep away from the site.
Less than two and a half hours after the incident at the food court, another situation happened in Atlanta. A man took a commuter bus driver as a hostage, holding him at gunpoint. Police followed this in a rush-hour chase while more than a dozen passengers were still inside the vehicle.
The person responsible was eventually caught, one individual discovered in the bus being shot had died, according to the police.
The authorities think the two incidents are not linked.
Malone waived off the initial court appearance, Natlie Ammons, a spokesperson for the Fulton County Sheriff, informed CNN. It's tough to say if Malone has legal representation at present.
(CNN's Alisha Ebrahimji and other contributors have helped make this report.)
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The Atlanta Police Department is currently investigating if Malone had any associates who might have been involved in the incident, given that he resides in Morrow, USA with us. Despite the ongoing investigation, Malone's bond hearing is scheduled for next week, and his legal representation is yet to be known.
