Midday Shooting in Atlanta Kills 1, Wounds 3

ATLANTA – A security guard in a shirt and tie opened fire on three women Friday in a parking deck in a bustling Atlanta business district, killing one and wounding two, police said.

Nkosi Thandiwe, 22, was taken into custody and charged with one count of murder and two counts of aggravated assault, police spokesman Carlos Campos said. He worked as a security guard in a high-rise on Peachtree Street, directly across the street from the parking deck where the gunfire broke out, Campos said.

The shootings happened around lunchtime in the Midtown neighborhood, where professionals who work in the densely packed office towers were leaving their desks to head to restaurants.

The survivors were taken to hospitals. Atlanta police spokeswoman Kim Jones said one was shot in the back and another was shot in the ankle.

The public relations firm MSL Group identified the wounded women as its employees, 23-year-old intern Lauren Garcia and 24-year-old assistant account executive Tiffany Ferenczy. Both were in stable condition, the firm said in a statement late Friday.

The company said the shooting outside its Atlanta offices was "unimaginable, but we remain positive and our thoughts and prayers are with our Atlanta colleagues, their families and our staff."

Meredith Smith, who was leaving work at the Proscenium building, tells WSB-TV that she took cover when she heard popping sounds and later saw a woman face down on the concrete.

"People were rushing towards her. People were screaming," Smith said.

Campos said Thandiwe, who witnesses said left in a black Prius, realized he had been identified by police, so he contacted an attorney and turned himself in. It wasn't known late Friday if a lawyer is representing him in the case. Police have not released a motive.

Police say the Prius, which belonged to the slain woman, was found in southwest Atlanta.