EAST ATLANTA — Two men were shot Saturday — one fatally — in what police said was a robbery gone bad, just a few feet away from the bustling Village bar district.

The shooting victims, along with a third person, were walking down May Avenue, just off Flat Shoals Avenue at about 11 p.m. when a gunman accosted them and robbed them, Atlanta Police Department Major Darryl K. Tolleson said. For some unknown reason, the gunman shot two of the men, striking one in the abdomen and the other in the leg. (Police did not release the victims' names.)

The gunman then jumped into the passenger side of a waiting car and sped away. It is believed that one of the victims is an East Atlanta resident, Tolleson said, adding police were canvassing the city for the suspect vehicle.

He expressed concern over the string of non-functioning street lights on May Avenue, which plunged a portion of the road in darkness, save the porch lights coming from homes along the street. In fact, he said the department would make a point of contacting Georgia Power Co. about the lights which have been non-functioning for weeks.

Visitors patronizing Village bars and restaurants often park along May Avenue, making them potential targets at night because it's so dark.

The shooting occurred amid a string of armed robbberies reported to the Atlanta Police Department on the same night, including:

Two separate incidents in Reynoldstown

The hold up of a pizzeria in Woodland Hills

The carjacking of a man in the Memorial Drive BP filling station in Capitol Gateway. In a separate incident, DeKalb County police reported a 12:30 a.m. armed robbery in the 1800 block of Glenwood Avenue, just east of the I-20 interchange in the Parkview community, the East Atlanta Security Patrol said. Police are investigating to see if this spate of gun robberies, along with a number of others this month, are connected.