Smiling Man Opens Fire in Mall, Killing 1

A smiling gunman recently released from a mental hospital opened fire in the food court of a suburban shopping mall Tuesday, killing one man and wounding four other people before walking out and surrendering, authorities said.

“He held up his hands and said, ‘I’m the one you’re looking for,’ ” police Col. M. F. Ferguson said.

The gunman, who gave his name as James Calvin Brady, 31, of Atlanta, was to be charged with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault, police spokesman Chuck Johnson said.

“He looked like a businessman with his left hand in his pants pocket,” said Carol Gravdahl, manager of Sweaters Etc. at Perimeter Mall, a few miles north of the city. “His right arm was straight out with a pistol, shooting it off randomly. He was coming around with it until I guess he emptied it--and he was smiling.

“He just walked in and started shooting,” she said. “He was very casual. He just stood there. He just moved his arm like somebody would be picking out some people for a team--you and you and you and you.”

Police later released a statement that said: “A preliminary investigation has revealed that the suspect is a former mental patient recently released from an Atlanta area mental facility.”

Police were trying to determine where Brady obtained the .38-caliber revolver.

After emptying his gun, the man walked to a table, unloaded the empty shells and was about to reload when an unidentified person standing nearby talked him out of it, Johnson said. The gunman threw the weapon in a trash can and walked out the mall’s main entrance and surrendered.

DeKalb County Public Safety Director Thomas Brown said the gunman muttered, “You don’t know what all these people have done to me,” as he was led away, but no motive had been established.

“We don’t believe it was directed toward the individuals who were shot; we think it was directed toward people in general,” Brown said.

A 24-year-old man was wounded in the chest and died later at Northside Hospital. Police identified him as Michael Gregory Music of Norcross, an Atlanta suburb.