ATLANTA (AP) – Two teenagers were arrested in connection with a shooting that wounded one man in a busy suburban Atlanta mall food court at the height of Christmas shopping season, police said Sunday.
The Cobb County Police Department said surveillance footage and interviews helped identify the suspects as 18-year-old Zaire Dhanoolal and 19-year-old Joweer Ponce, both from Marietta. Dhanoolal was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, while Ponce was charged with reckless conduct and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, according to the law enforcement statement.
Both suspects were being held at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, and county police said they were still investigating the mall shooting.
The shooting happened Saturday around 1 p.m. and sent shoppers scrambling at the sound of gunfire that police said began with a verbal dispute.
Officials said 18-year-old Ethan Green was shot in the neck and shoulder area and was taken to the hospital for treatment of what they described as “non-life threatening injuries.” The Cobb County Police Department said 21-year-old Anthony Ezell wasn’t injured during the shooting, but was considered a victim of aggravated assault because a weapon was pointed at him before Green was shot.