Morrow Police seek car thief who shot victim

MORROW, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Police released new surveillance video they hope will help them identify a car thief who shot a man in the chest.

According to the Morrow Police Department, it happened just after 6:30 p.m. on April 6 at a Chevron on Mount Zion Road near Southlake Mall.

The surveillance video shows the suspect pull up to the convenience store in a newer model, green Toyota Highlander. He gets out of the SUV and jumps into the driver's seat of a Kia sedan parked near the front door.

Inside the store, the car's owner spots the man in his front seat and runs out to stop him from stealing the car.

"When he confronted the man, a struggle ensued just a little bit and then the suspect pulled out a gun and fired, hitting the victim in the chest," explained Morrow Police Detective Sgt. Q. Lumpkin.

A store clerk runs to his customer's aid and points his own gun at the thief, who then gets back into the passenger side of the Toyota and fires several rounds at the store as they speed away, shattering the store's windows. A second man inside the car also points a gun towards the store.

The victim, police said, drove himself to the hospital and has since been released. He declined to speak to FOX 5 News about the shooting.

Investigators believe there were at least four people inside the green SUV, including two young women who surveillance video shows bailed out of the car when the shooting started. Police would like to identify them as well.

Morrow Police believe the shooter in the video is also responsible for a car theft at a nearby Shell gas station two days before the shooting at the Chevron. Officers recovered that stolen 2012 Infinity in East Point.

Detectives ask anyone who recognizes the people involved to call Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS.