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Video, photos show man suspected of shooting child outside Kroger

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County police released surveillance photos of the man they believe opened fire on a car at a Kroger store, shooting a 2-year-old.

The surveillance photos offer a clear view of the suspect also captured in viewer video obtained by Channel 2 Action News.

The shooting happened Wednesday around 1 p.m. outside the Kroger store on North Hairston Road in Stone Mountain.

DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander said a good Samaritan witnessed someone being robbed and stepped in to intervene. He and the suspected robber again crossed paths in front of the Kroger and the video shows their confrontation followed by gunshots.

“Point blank. Just stood there on foot, not in a vehicle or anything, just shot,” one witness said.

"He saw the subject, engaged him and tried to hold him there for security to arrive. During that point the subject broke loose and fired into the vehicle," Alexander said.

The child, a 2-year-old boy, was shot in the abdomen and taken to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Eggleston in stable condition.

"You could hear people saying, 'Check the baby, check the baby,'" another witness said.

The video shows a father racing into the supermarket with the child in his arms and a tearful, frantic mother behind. The father takes the child inside the store for a few seconds then carries the child back toward the store entrance.

"They were actually laying on the conveyer belt, and luckily, the pharmacy there were people assisting and putting pressure over the wound," a witness at the scene said.

Alexander said he was shocked at the brazeness of the crime.

"It had to be very clear that the child was in the vehicle and he had absolutely no regard for the child or any of those witnesses," Alexander said.