16-year-old shot by Uber driver outside Dunwoody Waffle House, police say

Written by: A. Smith

Published October 8, 2025 @ 10:46 AM ET

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. – An Uber driver has been arrested after a 16-year-old girl was shot outside a Waffle House early Sunday, according to the Dunwoody Police Department.

Officers responded around 2:30 a.m. Oct. 5 to the restaurant in the 4500 block of Chamblee Dunwoody Road and found the teen with a gunshot wound, police said. She was taken to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where she was in critical but stable condition as of the department’s release.

Investigators said five juvenile females had ordered a ride from the location. The driver told them he could take only four because his vehicle did not have enough room or seat belts. An argument followed over the refusal and who should cancel the ride, according to police.

Police said one of the teens threatened to kill the driver and struck him in the face while he was seated in the car. The driver then fired a gun, hitting the girl who allegedly assaulted him, according to the initial investigation.

Other teens at the scene told officers the threat and assault did not occur before the shooting, police said.

The driver, identified as Meredith Grundy, 38, was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The investigation remains active.

Sgt. Michael Cheek with the Dunwoody Police Department said: “No matter how you look at this incident from his perspective or the girl’s perspective, it’s not good no matter what. He explains to them, ‘Hey, I can’t take all of you, I can only take some of you,’ which ensued an argument and a disagreement.”

Cheek added: “It escalated to him telling them to get out of the car and an argument of who should not cancel the ride within the app.”

Police say this is not a case of self-defense.

Cheek said: “Let’s go to the self-defense code section in Georgia…which states the following that you can use deadly force i.e. a gun to defend yourself or others so that’s number one and number two against death or great bodily harm or to prevent the commission of a forceable felony…and when you take that code section and look at the totality of what happened from the interviews of all parties involved that and this do not match.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Darryl Moses at darryl.moses@dunwoodyga.gov.