crime

Man With 5 Guns and Body Armor Arrested in Atlanta Supermarket

Publix supermarket.
Publix supermarket. Photo: Jeff Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Image

As the country begins to open back up, weโ€™re grappling with the reality that, in America, a return to normal includes senseless acts of violence on a large scale. In a span of seven days, there have been seven mass shootings, the most recent of which took place earlier this week at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, where a gunman murdered ten people. And just yesterday, police arrested a man carrying multiple guns at a supermarket in Atlanta โ€”ย fortunately, before anyone was hurt.

Charles Russell, an Instacart worker, was fulfilling an order at the Publix at Atlantic Station on Wednesday afternoon when he noticed a man walk into the storeโ€™s bathroom wielding an assault weapon. โ€œI saw an AR-15,โ€ he told WSB-TV, โ€œand I was like, you know, this kind of startled me just again with events that recently happened in the grocery store up in Colorado.โ€ Russell then proceeded to inform a store manager, and another employee was instructed to alert police, who arrested the man โ€” Rico Marley, 22 โ€” as he exited the bathroom.

When officers entered the vacated bathroom, they discovered an arsenal of weapons: at least five guns, including three pistols and two long guns, as well as body armor, ammunition, and a knife, according to the Atlanta Police Department. Russell says that Marley made no attempt to conceal the rifle. โ€œThe weapon was leaned up in the stall of the bathroom, and it was not in a case,โ€ he said. โ€œI saw it clear as day.โ€

While police have not yet disclosed what they believe drove the man to enter a supermarket carrying so many guns, Marley underwent a mental evaluation before he was booked in Fulton County Jail. According to the Washington Post, he is now facing six counts of possession of a firearm or knife, five counts of attempting to commit a felony, and one count of reckless conduct.

In the wake of the recent mass shootings โ€” including last weekโ€™s shooting in Atlanta, where a gunman entered three massage parlors and murdered eight people, including six women of Asian descent โ€” impassioned pleas for gun-control reform have mounted. Earlier this week, President Bidenย called on the Senate to pass two gun-control bills that have already been approved by the House: a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, and stricter background checks. The measures largely have the support of Democrats, but with a 50-50 split in the Senate, the bills face a steep uphill battle.

Man With 5 Guns, Body Armor Arrested in Atlanta Supermarket