Scooter riding gunman shot man outside busy downtown hotel in broad daylight, police say

ATLANTA — One man is in the hospital and another is in custody after police said one shot the other right by a busy downtown Atlanta hotel.

Investigators told Channel 2′s Tom Regan they’re still trying to determine what sparked the incident along a sidewalk near the Hyatt Regency along Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

Jennifer Brooks, who lives nearby, said she was distressed to learn of the shooting that happened in the middle of the day.

“I was in a building across the street when it happened, and it just broke my heart,” Brooks said.

Drena Lee had just arrived at the hotel from Detroit to find police surrounding it as she was about to check in.

“Kind of scary?” Regan asked Lee.

“It’s beyond scary,” Lee said.

She told Regan that the lobby was still closed as a precaution.

“You still feel comfortable about checking in?” Regan asked Lee.

“Not really,” Lee said. “We will probably go to another Hyatt in Midtown.”

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Police said two men, one walking and one on a scooter, got into an argument that turned into a fight. That’s when investigators said the man on the scooter pulled a gun and shot the other man.

The wounded man is at Grady Memorial Hospital and police quickly arrested the alleged shooter.

“A couple of people got into an argument, that’s my understanding, one thing led to another and it was taken care of,” said Alan LeBlanc, who owns a restaurant nearby.

LeBlanc told Regan that he wasn’t too troubled by the shooting across the street from his restaurant. He said business is returning following last year’s COVID-19 shutdown and gun violence isn’t limited to downtown.

“Look at Buckhead today. I’d rather be downtown than Buckhead,” LeBlanc said.

Police told Regan that the victim was shot once in the hip and is in stable condition. What sparked the confrontation remains unclear. The shooting had nothing to do with the Hyatt Regency nor its guests.

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