COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A birthday party shooting outside of a metro Atlanta Chuck E. Cheese has a mother raising her concerns about safety.
The mother told Channel 2’s Chris Jose the gunman put several children in danger at the family entertainment center’s Cumberland Boulevard location in Cobb County.
“People came running in and screaming. There was so much commotion,” said Aliyah Thomas.
Cobb County police arrested Marc Mathurin on Nov. 30. He’s charged with aggravated assault and obstruction of a law enforcement official.
Mathurin is accused of firing a shot at David Brooks. The suspected gunman is Thomas’ ex-boyfriend. Brooks is Thomas’ current boyfriend.
“Kids were outside. A lady was a witness to it all. She had a baby in her hands,” said Brooks.
The shot missed Brooks and he ran for his life in the parking lot.
“He put the gun to my head. The barrel touched me,” said Brooks.
Brooks said he dropped off Thomas and her 2-year-old son at a Saturday night birthday party. He wasn’t invited and waited in the parking lot. Ten minutes later, Brooks said, Mathurin came outside.
“You were standing right next to the car when he fired the gun?” Jose asked.
“Yes,” said Brooks.
Brooks told Jose he called 911 and officers swarmed the parking lot within minutes.
According to an arrest warrant, Mathurin “actively resisted” and “pulled away” from an officer. Cobb police eventually took him down.
“I think he should get a child endangerment charge for each kid that was in (Chuck E. Cheese),” said Brooks.
The couple is now calling on the company’s corporate leaders to improve safety.
“Stop this from happening. Stop this from affecting families,” said Thomas. “I’m just left to wonder, what else can they do? A metal detector? More security? Did they even have a single person in charge of security?”
Mathurin is out of jail on a $30,000 bond.
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