Police Detain Man Wearing Body Armor, Carrying 5 Guns In Atlanta Supermarket

Atlanta, GA – Two days after 10 people were murdered inside a Colorado grocery store, police arrested a man carrying five weapons inside an Atlanta Station Publix.

A customer alerted store management just after 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday that a man carrying a rifle had just gone in to the grocery store’s bathroom, WSB reported.

“A witness observed the male and alerted store management, who then notified police,” Atlanta Police Officer Anthony Grant told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The man with the rifle was still in the bathroom when officers arrived.

Police said that when the man exited the bathroom, he was taken into custody, WSB reported.

“During the investigation, officers recovered five firearms and body armor from the male’s possession,” Atlanta police told WSB in an email.

Investigators said the suspect was carrying two long guns and two handguns, all of which were concealed on his person, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

He was also wearing body armor, WXIA reported.

#Breaking man detained with 5 #guns and body armour at Publix Atlantic Station. #Atlanta @cbs46 pic.twitter.com/zt33IyGq0l

— Jamie S Kennedy (@Jamie_S_Kennedy) March 24, 2021

Police have not released the suspect’s name.

Officials said detectives were still interviewing him and that he also needed to go for a psychiatric evaluation.

Authorities were trying to determine why the man was carrying so many guns inside the store, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Police shut down the area around the Publix as they investigated.

The grocery store has been cleared and officers were investigating a suspicious package found inside the store after the suspect was arrested, WSB reported.

LIVE: We just had a live look over the Atlantic Station Publix Grocery store where a heavily armed man with body armor was taken into custody. More to come on this #breaking story on @FOX5Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/pdb9grEHcK

— Billy Heath III (@BillyHeathFOX5) March 24, 2021

Georgia is an open-carry state and authorities have not yet said if the man will face any charges and if he was legally licensed to carry concealed.

The incident left people on edge given the mass shooting in Boulder on Monday.

The 21-year-old Syrian immigrant who opened fire at a King Soopers on March 22 has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, FOX News reported.

Boulder Police Department (BPD) Officer Eric Talley, the first officer to arrive at the scene, was fatally shot as he ran into the store to help the victims.

Witnesses said the gunman was carrying “a possible AR-15” and a handgun and wearing a green tactical vest when he opened fire inside the King Soopers store at located on Mesa Drive at approximately 2:30 p.m. on March 22, the New York Daily News reported.

According to the five-page affidavit, witnesses said the attacker shot multiple people in the parking lot before heading into the store, FOX News reported.

“Employees observed the suspect shoot an elderly man in the parking lot. The suspect then walked up to the elderly man, stood over him and shot him multiple additional times,” the affidavit read, according to the New York Daily News.

Customers ran for cover as the suspect entered the store and started stalking shoppers in the refrigerated foods area, witnesses told police.

Officer Talley was shot in the head during a shootout with the gunman, according to the affidavit.

SWAT officers were able to use a ballistic shield to reach the officer and drag him out of the store during the gun battle, but he had already succumbed to his wounds, the New York Daily News reported.

The gunman, who received a “through-and-through” gunshot wound to his thigh during the shootout, allegedly stripped down to his shorts before surrendering to police, according to court documents.

“The suspect did not answer questions, though he asked to speak to his mother,” police said in the filing, according to the New York Daily News. “[The gunman] told paramedics he was not using any medications.”

The shooter’s first court appearance is slated for Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Police have not revealed a motive for the mass shooting.