Victims' Family, Friends Pack Courthouse in Midtown Shooting Case

Roughly 100 friends and family members of this past summer's Midtown shooting victims packed a Fulton County courtroom on Wednesday to hear alleged shooter Nkosi Thandiwe enter a plea.

Thandiwe, 22, was  on charges including murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and gun possession. The July 15  left one woman dead and two others injured, including 22-year-old Lauren Garcia from Lithia Springs.

Garcia  from the Shepherd Center late last month. She remains paralyzed from about the waist down and must use a wheelchair.

Thandiwe's attorney, Rickey Richardson, told Judge Kelly Amanda Lee his client is not  of entering a plea and that a psychological evaluation is not complete.

Lee granted Richardson a continuation. The next court hearing is set for Nov. 16.

Richardson also said that Thandiwe is changing attorneys. Jack Garland will take over the case, he said.

Though some were there for Garcia, nearly all of the people in attendance were in support of , the 26-year-old who was shot and killed during the incident.

Family and friends of all the victims left the courtroom distraught, wiping tears from their faces and embracing one another.

"We'll be following it," Watts' uncle, Ken Owens, told Patch outside the courtroom. The droves of people who showed up Wednesday, he said, are a testament to the love the family had for Watts.

Fani Willis, executive assistant district attorney for the Fulton County District Attorney's office, told the judge the state is seeking life without parole.

Thandiwe was working as a security guard at the  when he allegedly shot and killed Watts in the building's parking garage in July. Police say he fled the garage in her car, shooting Garcia and Tiffany Ferenczy as he exited onto Crescent Avenue.

Ferenczy was shot in the leg.

All three women worked at the Proscenium building.