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Man, 22, arrested after taking FIVE guns and armor into Atlanta supermarket sparking fears of a Boulder copycat attack
A GEORGIA man walked into a supermarket on Wednesday carrying five guns and wearing body armor – prompting fears of a copycat attack after the Boulder massacre.
Police arrested Rico Marley, a 22-year-old who was seen carrying the weapons into the Publix supermarket in Atlanta just after 1:30pm.
Police arrested a man seen wearing body armor and bringing five guns with him into a supermarket in Atlanta[/caption]
Atlanta Police recovered three pistols, two rifles and armor from 21-year-old Rico Marley[/caption]
The city is reeling from a bloody gun spree barely a week earlier that killed eight people in three spas, including killing six Asian Americans.
The Publix manager called police after witnessing Marley enter the store bathroom with a rifle.
Police swooped on Marley just as he exited the restroom.
Among the weapons he was carrying included body armor and five guns, which included three pistols and two long rifles, police said.
Marley prompted fears of a copycat shooting similar to the one in Boulder, Colorado this week allegedly perpetrated by Alissa Ahmad, that left 10 people dead.
Police, according to Newsweek, interviewed Marley, who then underwent a mental health evaluation following his arrest.
Marley had walked into a Publix bathroom with the rifles when a store manager called police[/caption]
Police were turning customers away from the market as they investigated a “suspicious package”[/caption]
The Atlanta Police Department is also investigating a “suspicious package” left at the same Publix supermarket, but it was unclear if it was connected to Marley’s arrival.
Police remained outside the supermarket later on that day, turning customers away and closing one of the main streets in front of the store.
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On Monday, Ahmad, 21, is believed to have killed 10 people, including a police officer, at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder.
Earlier last week, Robert Aaron Long, 21, was charged with eight counts of murder after he is alleged to have gone on a shooting spree at three different spas in Atlanta.
Six of the eight victims were Asian, but Long has yet to give a motive other than blaming his actions on “sex addiction”.
