A man is in the hospital and police are looking for the people who shot him several times in a busy shopping center.
Rufus Payne was at the Target off Roswell Road Saturday night, about to head inside he said, when an argument broke out in the parking lot.
“It sounded bad enough where I was outside of my car and I thought I needed to get inside my car before something happened,” he said.
That’s when he said he heard gunfire – totaling about ten shots in all.
He thought the argument was about a dark colored Dodge Charger, and he told police it sounded like a carjacking.
Kristine Coats was leaving the store when she saw the victim slowly headed her way.
“I could see where a bullet had grazed his arm,” she said.
She said she got him to lie on the ground until help could arrive.
“I raised his shirt a little and there was a bullet wound through his back," she said.
Police have identified the victim as 27-year-old Mario Ross. Officers say Ross has undergone two surgeries and is in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital. They took his friend, who was with him, to police headquarters for questioning.
Investigators say the perpetrators stole Ross' 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer with Georgia tag No. BNE 7598.
“It will probably always haunt me for the rest of my life because of the look of fear on his face it something you don't forget," Coats said.
Police said the victim went into surgery Sunday night. They are hoping to interview him and release his name shortly after.
They also plan to release the license plate number of the car that's believed to have been stolen.