GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A Loganville man faces criminal charges after police say he fired three shots at a shopper he suspected of stealing at a Lowe’s Saturday afternoon.
“I saw a white male shooting at another person, a Black male,” said Michael Starks, who was in the parking lot when the shooting happened. “He could have hit him in the back, could have killed him, could have had a stray bullet that struck someone else.”
Police say 64-year-old Steven Douglas Wagner pulled a pistol and fired near the garden center around 3 p.m. at the store on Atlanta Highway.
The arrest warrant states Wagner targeted someone “he believed to be shoplifting.” Another warrant describes the person he shot at as “another person that was shopping at the store.”
A Lowe’s employee told police the young man had not stolen anything, according to Starks. Loganville Police have not responded to a request for an update on the case.
“This guy is fleeing, he’s running basically for his life away from this guy and he’s still shooting,” Starks told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.
Starks called 911 and followed Wagner back into the store and snapped a photo that helped police make an arrest within minutes.
He said Wagner’s demeanor was concerning.
“He honestly thought he did nothing wrong and should have been rewarded for his actions,” Starks said.
Wagner’s wife came outside and defended her husband, according to witnesses, telling officers he was just trying to stop a thief.
“The police officer told the wife he should have just called the police instead of involving himself in that incident,” Starks said.
Wagner now faces felony aggravated assault and reckless conduct charges and remains in jail without bond. As of Saturday, police have not located the young man who ran because he left before officers arrived.
For Starks, the father of children around the same age of the young man, the incident weighs heavy. Starks believes the shooting was racially motivated.
“It is not anyone’s place to be judge, jury and executioner just because they’re Black,” he said.
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