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Who is Rico Marley? Man, 22, busted with 5 guns, body armor at Atlanta grocery store days after Boulder shooting

Marley entered the store, located on Atlantic Drive North West, and headed straight for the bathroom. When he exited, he was apprehended by the police.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: A 22-year-old has been arrested after entering the Atlantic Station Publix grocery store armed with five guns on March 24. The individual, identified as Rico Marley has been arrested by Atlanta Police (APD) and will be taken to Fulton County jail for further processing. He has been charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor punishable with up to 12 months in jail, and a $1,000 fine. 

A witness (who has not been identified by police) first observed Marley and alerted store management, who then called the police. Marley entered the store, located on Atlantic Drive North West just after 1.30 pm, and headed straight for the bathroom. When he exited, he was apprehended by the police. He then faced a mental health evaluation on the scene by Grady EMS, a police statement said. However, there’s no report of him pointing the weapons or using the weapons at all before police arrived.

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Marley's arrest comes just days after a mass shooting in Boulder left 10 dead and a nation on edge. Here's everything we know about Marley.

Who is Rico Marley?

According to the police statement, Marley was born in July 1998. Accordign to a Channel 2 journalist Matt Johnson who looked into Marley's background and shared that the man had a criminal record out of DeKalb County from three years ago for a simple assault charge that was dismissed on a technicality.

Cellphone footage taken by a local journalist and uploaded on Twitter shows Atlanta Police arresting a man in blue hoodie at the scene. MEAWW is unable to verify if the footage uploaded is that of Marley, since his appearance seems to contradict witness statements. 

At around 1:30 pm, Marley entered the Publix grocery store with a rifle, while the other four guns were concealed. Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the witness was Charles Russel, a driver for Instacart. Russel reportedly saw Marley in the bathroom and urged employees to dial 911. "I seen an AR-15,” he said. “(That) kind of startled me with the events that recently happened in the grocery store up in Colorado." According to Russel, Marley was wearing a white tee and black pants, but not the body armor. At the time of his arrest, images show Marley in what appears to be a blue hoodie. “To be able to stop it, if it were going to be something, that’s what I cared about as it progressed,” Russell said.The witness said he didn’t say anything Marley in the bathroom when he saw him. He said the man didn’t make an attempt to hide the AR-15. “The weapon was leaned up in the stall of the bathroom, and it was not in a case. I saw it clear as day. I just took my time to report it,” Russell said.

Police did not say if he was licensed to carry and it is unclear at this time why he was carrying so many guns or where they came from. However, WSBTV reports that Marley had a weapons carry license on him on March 24.  The two long guns and three pistols recovered from Marley have been entered into evidence. As officers responded to the call, Atlantic Drive was closed to traffic and shoppers turned away from the store. Police also said that a 'suspicious package' was found at the same grocery store and is being investigated. It is unclear as of now if the package is linked to Marley. No further information was provided. 

Atlantic Station is working with APD and as of two hours ago was still closed to shoppers. The last update from the mall was via Twitter, where it said, "We are closely monitoring the situation alongside APD, and we will reopen as soon as possible. The safety of the Atlantic Station community is of utmost importance."

The incident comes just after a week of a series of shootings in Atlanta by Robert Aaron Long, who targeted three Asian massage parlors. Following the Long shootings and Boulder shooting, Democrats have increased their calls for gun control reforms with two bills set to be debated in the Senate after passing the House. President Joe Biden has also acknowledged the urgent need for reform and threatened to take executive action if Congress does not act.