GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 22-year-old man is facing multiple charges after police say he fired a gun outside a Buford business, injuring an innocent bystander.
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Gwinnett County police said officers responded to Tavern at Mall of Georgia on Mall of Georgia Boulevard on Aug. 9 after reports of a shooting.
Investigators determined that Jalyn Watkins had been removed from the business and appeared to be intoxicated when he went to a vehicle and retrieved a handgun.
According to police, Watkins fired a single round into the ground in the parking lot. The bullet fragmented, and shrapnel hit a 25-year-old man in the back.
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The victim was not involved in the incident and was simply in the parking lot when the shot was fired, police said. After hearing the gunshot, he felt something hit his back and ran from the area.
Authorities said the man’s injuries were not life-threatening.
Police said Watkins left the scene after the shooting, but investigators quickly identified the vehicle using Flock camera technology. Officers tracked the vehicle to an apartment complex on Buford Drive, leading to Watkins’ identification and arrest within hours of the incident.
Detectives also recovered the gun believed to have been used in the shooting.
Watkins was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail and charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of certain crimes, discharge of a firearm on the property of another, and unauthorized discharge of a firearm within 50 yards of a public highway.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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