ATLANTA — Atlanta police say two men were injured when a man opened fire inside a warming shelter.
The shooting happened just before 10 a.m. at the warming center that was open at 400 Merritts Avenue.
Investigators said Antonio Wooten, 37, was using the shelter and became angry for some reason with some of the patrons inside, as well as a worker.
After becoming irate, Wooten pulled out a gun and opened fire inside the shelter, hitting two men.
“Our officer did discharge his weapon in order to eliminate that threat to employees and everyone else inside the warming center,” Maj. Peter Malecki with the Atlanta Police Department said.
Wooten was not hit, but he did break his arm when falling to the ground, police said in a news conference on Thursday.
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Both shooting victims were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for their injuries. Investigators said one of the men sustained four to five gunshot wounds, while the other was shot twice. Both men are expected to make a full recovery.
“I was just shocked, you know, praying or whatever,” witness Ron Hutton told Channel 2’s Michael Seiden.
Wooten was also taken to Grady for his injuries. He has since been released and is being held in the Fulton County Jail on five counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
During Thursday’s news conference, officers were asked how the man was able to get a gun inside despite signs outside saying no weapons are allowed, as well as metal detectors inside the shelter.
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“We do have measures that are in place, but that is part of our ongoing investigation to try to determine exactly how that happened,” Malecki said. “There is a metal detector inside. There are also security officers, as well as our police department provides (officers) who work an off-duty assignment to provide protection. And thankfully he was there cause it certainly could have been a lot, lot worse.”
The people who were using the warming shelter have been taken to the Gateway Center as police continue to investigate the shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has also been called in to investigate the shooting as well.