Man shoots, injures 3 people at shopping center; off-duty officer stops threat

A gunman shot and injured three people at an Atlanta mall before an off-duty officer stepped in and stopped the threat, according to authorities.

Jeremy Malone, 34, "got into an altercation with a man" at the Peachtree Center Mall around 2:15 p.m. Tuesday and then allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot the man he was fighting with, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Malone then allegedly "walked further into the food court area of the mall and shot two other people," the GBI said

As people fled for safety, an off-duty Atlanta police officer confronted the armed suspect and shot him, Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said.

The three victims and the suspect were treated at local hospitals. The victims -- identified as a 47-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman and a 70-year-old woman -- were in stable condition, the GBI said Tuesday night.

Malone has since been released into the custody of the Atlanta police, officials said.

Malone has served prison time for armed robbery, Schierbaum said.

"This is an individual who should have never been possessing a gun," Schierbaum said.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens praised the off-duty officer on Wednesday, telling reporters, "I thank that officer for his quick action to address this individual."

"That officer had to make a critical decisionin a split second," Dickens said. "He knew that he had an individualthat had a gun in his hand ... was yelling and acted as though he could've shot someone else."