ATLANTA — A suspect wanted in connection with multiple sexual assaults across metro Atlanta is now in custody.
Atlanta police say 31-year-old Kwame Shabazz was arrested in Gwinnett County and extradited to Atlanta just hours after investigators released surveillance video of a suspect wanted in connection with a late January sexual assault.
Atlanta Police Lieutenant Rodney Crosby says Ring camera footage shows Shabazz entering an apartment near Lindbergh Drive in Buckhead, where a woman reported being sexually assaulted.
“Mr. Kwame Shabazz forcefully made his way into the victim’s apartment and sexually assaulted her; this victim was unknown to Mr. Shabazz,” Crosby said.
Police say the woman immediately contacted the building’s concierge after the forced entry.
“He forced his way in, she immediately called concierge, but when they looked for him, he was not there,” Crosby said.
Investigators say Shabazz is also accused of exposing himself to another victim in the same area the following day. Crosby says the two victims are not known to each other.
“Through our investigation, we determined Mr. Shabazz, Kwame Shabazz, was involved in a public indecency case the day after,” Crosby said.
Atlanta police say Shabazz is also a suspect in a separate rape case in College Park. Authorities there have active arrest warrants related to that investigation.
Crosby says Shabazz was already on law enforcement’s radar in multiple jurisdictions.
“Kwame Shabazz had current sexual assault rape warrants out of College Park, and also he has an active probation warrant out of Fulton County,” Crosby said.
Police say Shabazz was captured on surveillance cameras in Buckhead and was taken into custody in Gwinnett County shortly after Atlanta police issued a public appeal for help locating him.
Crosby was asked whether investigators believe they are dealing with a serial rapist.
“He has two victims that he does not know; one rape is too many,” Crosby said.
Shabazz is now awaiting transfer to the Fulton County Jail and faces multiple charges in multiple jurisdictions.
WSB Radio’s Graham Carroll contributed to this story.
