Crime & Safety

Security at Midtown Office Tower Ramps Up after Shooting of Roswell Grad

The motive remains unclear in Friday's fatal shooting in the parking deck of The Proscenium.

Workers at Midtown's Proscenium office tower returned from the weekend to find stepped-up security after a triple shooting that killed a woman in the building's parking garage on Friday.

The building's management has updated tenants through emails and held a meeting Monday to update them on the incident. Building managers said there would be "triple the normal amount of guards along with APD presence" this week, said Maren Wronowski, an office manager in the Proscenium building who shared notes from the meeting with her co-workers.

Some tenants were upset to learn that the man charged in the shootings, Nkosi Thandiwe, 22, was a 

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Thandiwe is charged with murder in the death of Brittany Watts, 26, and two counts of aggravated assault in the shootings of two other women who were wounded in the attack in the parking garage at Crescent Avenue and 14th Street.

"No motive has been established," police spokeswoman Officer Kim Jones said Monday. 

Find out what's happening in Roswellwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Wronowski said the security company told tenants they believed the woman who was killed "was not targeted and it was random." Police said Friday the victim might have been the target of a disgruntled co-worker.

All three women worked at the Proscenium. 

Watts, a 2007 grad of University of Georgia who grew up Roswell, worked as a digital planning supervisor for 22squared. The other two women -- Lauren Garcia, 23, and Tiffany Ferenczy, 24 -- worked at the communications firm MSLGroup.

On Monday, tenants met with Manulife Financial, the company that owns The Proscenium building, and Allied Barton Security Services, the company contracted for the building's security.

"I personally feel that they are taking this situation very seriously and are making every effort possible to reassure us that we do work in a safe area and the plan they had in place could not have prevented the incident," Wronowski wrote in the email she sent to co-workers after the meeting.

Thandiwe  to appear before a Fulton County magistrate on Saturday. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 29 at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta.

Wronowski said the security firm assured tenants that Thandiwe had undergone a background check that did not find any criminal past. She said Allied Barton Security Services described the guard as having good references, a college education and that he "was in good standing with Allied."

Allied declined a Patch request for an interview and Proscenium officials could not be reached for comment.

The fatal shooting has left many grief-stricken.

"We will never forget," one of Watts' friends said in a blog post. "You taught me, inspired me, entertained me, but beyond the past tense verbs, you will continue to teach me, inspire me and entertain me."

Timothy J. Schluchter, property manager at The Proscenium, told tenants in a letter Monday that "together, we will be taking several steps to heal."

Schluchter said his management team would set up a space in the building "to grieve, to talk with one another, or to sit quietly." Tenants also will be offered grief counseling, he said.

"We understand there are discussions about creating funds and establishing initiatives to honor Brittney," Schluchter said. "We will strongly support these efforts."

The funeral service for Watts is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Alpharetta. 

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made in Watts' name to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Georgia Organics.


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