Police in north central Georgia are James Caldwellsearching for a shooting suspect they say opened fire on a man outside of fast-food restaurant Zaxby's Tuesday night, fatally wounding him.

DeKalb County Police Department spokesperson Officer Elise Wells told USA TODAY the shooting took place just before 9 p.m. at the business in Lithonia.

The city is about 17 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

The spokesperson said officers arrived and found a 24-year-old man suffering from two gunshot wounds to his back.  

The man was transported by EMS to an area hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries where he later died from his wounds, Wells said.

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Motive in Zaxby's shooting unknown

Police said a preliminary investigation shows the victim was in a dispute with the suspect inside the store before he walked out of the business.

It was not immediately known what the pair argued about.

The suspect, police say, followed the victim before reportedly shooting at him and fleeing the area.

Zaxby's shooting suspect at large

As of Wednesday morning, police have not released the identity of the man killed and detectives remained on the scene investigating.

Police did not provide a description of the shooting suspect who they say still remains at large.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.