Woman, Uber driver shot, in critical condition

Shooter knows female victim, Atlanta police say.

A woman and an Uber driver are in critical condition after gunfire erupted early Friday morning in northwest Atlanta, police said.

The shootings, which happened in the same neighborhood and involved the same gunman, started about 5:30 a.m., Atlanta police Officer Donald Hannah said.

The shooter, who knows the woman, entered her car outside a convenience store in the 1300 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, according to police.

“Soon after, the female victim was located in her vehicle in the yard of a residence on Oakmont Drive after being shot in the face,” Hannah said.

According to Channel 2 Action News, the woman panicked and crashed the car into a house on Oakmont Drive while looking for help.

The shooter then traveled east and opened fire on an Uber driver’s car at the intersection of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive, police said.

The driver was hit in the abdomen, according to Hannah. The passenger had minor injuries from fragments of glass.

Pictures from the scene appear to show a black car riddled with bullets.

Officials do not know what prompted the shootings and have not located the gunman, who was last seen walking toward the 1200 block of Joseph E. Boone Boulevard.

“We are interviewing witnesses, as well as the passenger of the Uber vehicle, and everyone is cooperating with the investigation,” Hannah said.

The passenger, who did not want to be identified, described the incident to Channel 2.

“They went pop, pop, pop,” she said. “Shot up this whole area.”

While the Uber’s passenger was not taken to the hospital, the driver and the other woman were. Both are at Grady Memorial Hospital in critical but stable condition.

This is the second incident this month involving a driver with a ride-sharing company in metro Atlanta.

In Henry County, a Lyft driver said she “was scared to death” when a man retrieved his gun and opened fire after a dispute over a canceled ride on July 19. The driver was not injured and the shooter was not arrested.