Man in 'serious condition' after shooting at crowded Home Depot

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Two feuding neighbors got into a fight when they ran into each other at a Home Depot garden center and one shot the other, the Paulding County Sheriff's Office said.

The shooting happened at 145 Depot Drive in Hiram around 8:45 a.m. Friday. The Home Depot is one of busiest in the metro area.

[PHOTOS: Person shot at metro Atlanta Home Depot]

Channel 2's Chris Jose learned one man was shot and a suspect is in custody.

The victim was taken to Kennestone Hospital, where Sgt. Ashley Henson says he was in "pretty serious condition." He took a bullet to the torso.

Jose learned the shooting started as a fight in the garden center section of the store.

"It’s definitely a major concern that there were gunshots fired in an extremely busy store like this. That’s going to play into whether or not charges are filed in this case. We’re going to look at all of those different aspects as well,” Henson said.

The Sheriff’s Office said the shooting happened in front of other customers.

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"It’s the grace of God that guy was able to survive the shooting," customer Arthur Van Pelt said.

A woman who did not want to be identified said she was inside the garden center when the chaos began.

"It was just loud. Just real loud," she said. "I got out of there as soon as I could. It is very frightening."

Before she left, the customer took a picture of the gunman with his hands behind his back.

Deputies released the 62-year-old after questioning him at the jail. He has not been charged.

The customer also snapped a picture of the injured 33-year-old man surrounded by paramedics.

Deputies believe the two men are neighbors and they had a previous disagreement.
They saw each other in the garden center, got into an argument and threw punches.

“It spilled over into the store. Where it got more physical. Lone shot fired,” Henson said.

The shooter and the victim were shoppers, not Home Depot employees.

Cox Media Group