ATLANTA — One man was killed and two others hurt in a shooting at a Midtown bar, leaving police searching for clues early Saturday morning, police said.
According to Lt. Andrea Webster of the Atlanta Police Homicide Unit, the shooting happened at about 2:30 a.m. in the breezeway of the Atlantis Restaurant and Lounge on Piedmont Circle.
The shooting occurred just as the lounge was closing, Webster said.
The preliminary investigation, according to Sgt. John Chafee, indicated that a male got into a disupte with lounge staffers over the price of admission. At some point, the male pulled out a handgun and began shooting.
The two other people who were shot were being treated for their injuries.
Chafee said, both of those persons were males who were shot in the leg. One was taken to a hospital in stable condition, while the other was was treated at the scene for what Chafee said appeared to be a "graze wound."
According to Webster, the deceased man was described as a black man in his 30s, and thought to be an employee of the lounge.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office later identified him as 42-year-old John Price of Henderson, Nev.
Webster said investigators were getting statements from witnesses who were leaving the lounge at the time of the shooting.
One person who was inside, Reginald St. Julien, told 11Alive News that he and his friends were inside having a good time when he heard the shots.
"Boom, boom, boom," St. Julien said. "Gunshots -- everyone knows what it sounds like at this point in age. Everyone ducks."
St. Julien said that when he got out of the club, he saw someone who he thought may have been working security for the club, down on the ground.
"That looks kind of unusual," he said. He turned back to check on his friends, before coming back out. "(I) look at him to see if he would, you know, inhale? If there's any movement. But I don't see his diaphragm move at all, so I knew he was -- gone already."
Webster said the parking lot was fairly full of patrons leaving the club when the shooting occured. She says investigators were interviewing witnesses and collecting shell casings as part of their investigation.
Investigators have not, as of yet, released information regarding a description of the shooting suspect. Webster said they are looking for possible surveillance images which may help them as part of their investigation.
Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to contact the Atlanta Police Homicide Unit at 404-546-4235.
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