A gunman shot and injured three people at an Atlanta mall before an off-duty officer stepped in and stopped the threat, according to authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeremy Malone, 34, “got into an altercation with a man” at the Peachtree Center Mall around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday and then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot the man he was fighting with, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Malone then allegedly “walked further into the food court area of the mall and shot two other people,” the GBI said<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As people fled for safety, an off-duty Atlanta police officer confronted the armed suspect and shot him, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The three victims and the suspect were treated at local hospitals. The victims — identified as a 47-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman — were in stable condition, the GBI said Tuesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Malone has since been released into the custody of the Atlanta police, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Malone has served prison time for armed robbery, Schierbaum said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is an individual who should have never been possessing a gun,” Schierbaum said.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised the off-duty officer on Wednesday, telling reporters, “I thank that officer for his quick action to address this individual.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “That officer had to make a critical decision in a split second,” Dickens said. “He knew that he had an individual that had a gun in his hand … was yelling and acted as though he could’ve shot someone else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n