Gunman in Mercedes opened fire on 3 strangers in 30 minutes, killing 1 on streets of Atlanta

ATLANTA — Atlanta police are searching for a gunman who they say went on a shooting spree, leaving one person dead and two others injured.

Surveillance video obtained by Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne shows the suspect walking up to a man police say is a stranger and shooting him.

An APD sergeant assigned to a special ATF team says they have been able to connect that man to two other violent incidents within 30 minutes of each other on Oct. 27.

“All three of these appear to be stranger-to-stranger,” Sgt. Carlos Maldonado said.

He says the shooter drove off in a white Mercedes with a black roof.

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The first incident started with road rage near North Highland Ave. and Lanier Blvd. in Virginia Highland. Maldonado says the suspect hit the victim’s truck several times and even shot at the vehicle.

“[It] went right through the passenger cabin of the vehicle, easily could’ve hit him in the back of the head,” he explained.

The victim told Winne that he looked at the suspect and said, “Really, dude?” after watching him blow through a stop sign.

He says 30 minutes later, the suspect arrived at Boulevard and North Ave. The suspect reportedly walked up to the victim, who greeted him, and the suspect pulled out a gun, pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger. Luckily, the gun malfunctioned and the victim escaped.

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A surveillance camera at a Wendy’s caught the suspect chasing a victim before giving up and circling into an alley where he murdered Ned Jackson, a homeless man.

Maldonado says they were able to connect the man to all three incidents through NIBIN, the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network. The database has thousands of cartridge casings from crime scenes and test-fired guns.

“If you will, the firearm has its own fingerprint that left behind on each casing that’s recovered from a crime scene,” Maldonado explained.

There is a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

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