Police Study Video Of Deadly Shooting Outside Buckhead Shopping Center

ATLANTA, GA -- Atlanta police asked the public's help Friday in finding who shot a man in a busy shopping center in Buckhead. The incident happened about 10:40 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of Kroger on Piedmont Road.

Police are investigating the shooting, including examining video footage of the incident and dusting for prints a red Mercedes-Benz left behind in the Piedmont Crossing Center plaza. Authorities said that the victim was a passenger in the Mercedes, which was driven by a woman. They came to the shopping center to meet up with three people. SIGN UP: To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Buckhead Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

"A red car is what our victim arrived in and he arrived with a black female. We believe that they were there for a particular reason -- it wasn't random," Atlanta Homicide police Lt. Ricardo Vazquez told reporters Friday. "We don't what exactly it was, whether it was a business transaction or what."

The victim was assaulted by three men before the attack erupted into gunfire, police said. The victim was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Vazquez said.

While there were people in the parking lot who saw what happened, Atlanta police are still looking for more witnesses to come forward. "We're still trying to get a lot of the video ... there was a lot of people in that parking lot, there was a lot of vehicle traffic coming in and out, so we're asking anybody (for help)," he said.

Police are also hoping to talk with the woman who came with the man who was killed. "Based on our video footage, she was present during the entire incident, and yes, she is a person of interest," Vazquez said.

He said that the fact that the woman did not call police -- she walked away -- concerns him. "She may be afraid," he said. Authorities believe the victim and assailants knew each other in some way.

"We at least know that the victim and the driver of the red vehicle knew each other. They were there for a reason -- it wasn't random, we can say that," Vazquez said.

The people responsible for the slaying may have gotten away in a blue car, police said. "We believe that it may be a Toyota or other smaller foreign vehicle," Vazquez said.

A man in a ribbed white T-shirt was the “primary aggressor,” Vazquez said. “We feel like there are some witnesses out there that we need to talk to to try to figure out what happened."

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