Police: Arrest made in random Atlanta shootings, DeKalb murder

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Authorities have made an arrest in the case of the random series of shootings that took place early Thursday morning. 

Atlanta Police told FOX 5 News Mikeal Demond Callaway has been charged in connection to a murder in DeKalb County, two random shootings that happened Thursday on Interstate 20 and Fulton Street, and a burglary that happened on Auburn Avenue. Police said the two drive-by shootings and the DeKalb County murder happened the same morning, the burglary was reported earlier in the week.

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Atlanta Police believe Callaway randomly picked targets in separate shootings that injured two drivers early Thursday, causing one of them to crash. Both victims told officers a silver SUV pulled up alongside them and someone inside started shooting, for no apparent reason.

The first shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. on Interstate 20. A man who was heading west near the Hamilton E. Holmes exit was targeted and shot multiple times. Paramedics transported him to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition. That victim said he didn't know the gunman and had no idea why he was shot.

Not long after, a second shooting took place in the Mechanicsville neighborhood of southwest Atlanta. The second victim was driving down Fulton Street when a vehicle pulled up and a person fired numerous shots at him. One of the bullets hit the victim in the neck, then he lost control of his BMW, which flipped on its side. He was also taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

App users: Watch video from the scene

Investigators said they worked with the DeKalb County Police Department and determined the same suspect was behind a deadly shooting in their jurisdiction. In that case, a man was shot to death while sitting in a vehicle with his family on Shropshire Lane.

Following the random shootings, authorities began searching for a silver SUV.

Just after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, law enforcement officers with the Georgia State Patrol spotted the SUV, after a chase they performed a pit maneuver near Moreland and Custer Avenues.

Inside the SUV police found evidence linking the vehicle to the burglary on Auburn Avenue.

Police had been searching for a silver SUV all day, but police at the scene of the traffic stop said someone had spray-painted the vehicle black. Bullet holes were visible on the vehicle.

The driver of the car was taken into custody. That driver was Mikeal Callaway. A female passenger was held for questioning. She has not been charged. FOX 5 News cameras were rolling as investigators pulled a handgun out of the vehicle.

Investigators were able to link the vehicle to a home on Wee Kirk Road in DeKalb County where a SWAT team raided the home within an hour of finding the vehicle.

Early Friday morning, DeKalb County Police said they think the suspect arrested during the traffic stop lived at the Wee Kirk Road home. Police have now linked Callaway and the spray-painted SUV to the two drive-by shootings and the murder on Shropshire Lane.

It is not yet clear if anything was found in the home during the raid.

Investigators in Atlanta said they held lineups Friday with several witnesses. Police said that helped lead to the arrest of Callaway.

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Callaway now faces charges several charges including aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and burglary in the first degree. He is currently being held in the DeKalb County Jail.

Callaway faces additional charges in Atlanta, those include Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, Burglary Smash and Grab, Criminal Damage to Property, Theft by Taking and Burglary in the First Degree. 

Atlanta police said they do not know of a motive, just called Calloway's acts "random acts of violence".