Workplace shooting at Atlanta barbershop leaves community shaken

ATLANTA - A workplace shooting at a shooting center in southwest Atlanta left a 53-year-old barber dead. According to the Atlanta Police Department, two barbers got into a dispute over a client, and one pulled out a gun and shot the other. It happened at a barbershop along Carmia Drive at the popular Camp Creek Marketplace.

Those who knew the barbers are just stunned at this outcome. The barber who did the shooting flagged down an officer and turned himself in. "To find out it was at the hands of another barber just blew me away," said Rohalia Knight, who added that she still cannot believe her barber was shot and killed by a 39-year-old co-worker at the Barbershop in the Publix Plaza on Carmia Drive.

Knight had an appointment on Thursday afternoon with the man whom she described as gentle, kind, and a devoted father of five. "He loved his kids; we talked about them all the time. I spoke with him just yesterday, and today, to find out he's deceased is just shocking," she said.

Atlanta police say that when they arrived at the scene, the shooter surrendered to deputies almost immediately. "One of the involved parties flagged down a sheriff's deputy and turned himself in," said Captain Jeff Childers with the Atlanta Police Department. "They were having an escalated dispute over a customer," the captain added.

"It's sad. It's very sad. My friends. We work together every day," said Fatima Mensch, who works right next-door to the barbershop. She said she heard the shots just after 10 a.m. and was surprised. "I heard something like a gunshot," she said. "It was so shocking because I liked the guys; they were so nice."

The name of the arrested man has not been released.