Homicides drop in Atlanta for second year but still not to pre-pandemic levels

“It’s trending in the right direction,” Lopez told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “For Atlanta, the numbers are still elevated compared to pre-covid, up 14% in 2023 compared to 2019.”

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Thomas Lowe, shown with his mother, was killed on Jan. 13. Lowe, 18, was shot to death at an apartment complex just outside I-285 in southwest Atlanta, police said. Lowe had an infant son and spent his time working and playing video games, his mother said.

Both the pandemic and the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, which experts believe changed communities’ relationships with law enforcement, are often cited as two reasons for the nationwide climb in homicides beginning in 2020, according to crime experts. But a variety of others factors were also involved, such as news events in other cities, and many law enforcement agencies began to see an increase in violence before Covid, Lopez said.

In 2019, investigators worked 99 homicide cases in the city. Atlanta city leaders say they know the work must continue to keep crime down, including continuing programs put in place that are sparking change.

What’s working in Atlanta

Police Chief Darin Schierbaum credits getting more than 3,000 guns off the streets from felons and gang members, plus shutting down dozens of drug-dealing operations, with the drop in homicides and overall crimes. Other city programs implemented under Mayor Andre Dickens, including those helping get teens jobs, have also helped fight crime.

But it’s simple disputes that quickly turn violent that cause many of the homicide cases in the city, Schierbaum said. And though domestic violence cases dropped toward the end of 2024, they still were the No. 2 reason people killed, the chief said.

These “retaliatory violent disputes” are not unique to Atlanta, according to the Arizona State University Center for Problem-Oriented Policing.

“In the United States, arguments are well-known as the most frequent cause of homicide,” according to ASU researchers. “Not only are these disputes often over seemingly minor issues, they can accelerate rapidly to violence.”

This makes it nearly impossible for law enforcement to intervene early, Schierbaum said.

“We can take down drug-dealing operations in the city and we do it every week,” the chief told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in October. “We can stop gangs from organizing and carrying out violence. We do that every week. We can take guns off the street. We’re at a high number of guns being taking off the street.

“But we can’t be in your living room when you’re mad,” Schierbaum said. “And we can’t protect you whenever someone is so angry that they’re willing to take your life if it’s happening in a home, outside of a criminal action that the police department isn’t aligned with.”

Handguns were used in 101 homicides in Atlanta last year, department data shows. In previous years, police reported guns being left unsecured in vehicles then stolen. And many times, those guns ended up in the hands of teens or convicted felons who couldn’t legally have them, police have said.

On April 4 at around 12:30 a.m., Dontavious Wright, 38, pulled into a BP gas station on Cleveland Avenue and quickly flagged down officers, according to police. In Wright’s passenger’s seat was his girlfriend, who had been shot in the head.

Wright said Vermeka Nicole Williams, 42, had shot and killed herself, according to police. Investigators didn’t believe it, and neither did a grand jury. Wright was charged with murder later the same day, and in June, he was convicted of six charges, including murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, Fulton County court records show. With his previous felony conviction, Wright couldn’t legally have a gun.

In July, Dickens announced his No More Campaign, which encourages people to speak up if they witness violence and promotes overall awareness of domestic violence. The initiative includes support from Atlanta icons Dallas Austin, Big Gipp, Miss Lawrence, Monyetta Shaw Carter and Rasheed.

“We need you to know who is in a dangerous and toxic relationship and help them get out of there,” Schierbaum said.

The chief and mayor both believe the campaign to combat domestic violence is working. In the second half of 2024, investigators saw fewer domestic violence cases leading to homicide, the chief said in January.

Trending up and then down

During the hot Atlanta summers, violence typically increases, according to police department data. Through June, the homicide numbers were trending higher than in 2023: the department had investigated 62 homicides up from 55 for the same period in 2023, according to crime data.

Also in June, Dickens and Schierbaum announced “Operation Heat Wave,” a plan for targeting the historic increase in crime while continuing the city’s efforts to get children and teens active and off the streets. Both aggravated assault and robbery were down more than 10% despite the increased pace of homicides.

“Criminals do not get a pass in the summertime in Atlanta, Georgia,” Schierbaum said. “We will make sure that we’re working very hard to hold individuals accountable that want to take advantage of the longer days to cause mayhem here in the city.”

But not all violence stopped. On July 2, two 13-year-old boys were killed at an apartment complex in Oakland City.

Lamon Freeman and one of his best friends, JáKody Davis, were both shot to death around 12:30 a.m. while hanging out on the steps of a building at the West End Apartments. A 12-year-old boy was also shot and had to be hospitalized, Atlanta police said. No arrests have been made in the case.

“Literally, today’s his birthday, and it’s not good at all,” Freeman’s cousin, Tiwana McCoy, told reporters just feet from where police were conducting their homicide investigation. “He’s supposed to be here with us celebrating, doing what we do as a celebration for his birthday.”

Marlon Montgomery, vice president of youth development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of metro Atlanta, says 8,000 kids and teens are served a year at the 26 clubs in the area.

“What we’ve seen is a decline in interpersonal connection,” Montgomery told the AJC.

The clubs offer a safe, inclusive place where the kids are welcomed and treated with dignity, he said. There are opportunities for young people to look ahead at educational, military or workplace options.

“We allow their voices to be heard in our clubs,” Montgomery said.

Dickens dubbed 2023 the Year of the Youth in Atlanta, which includes many opportunities to keep young people busy and off the streets. Montgomery said the clubs have seen an increase in members, and in coming weeks, summer camp registration will begin.

Youth programs are working, according to city leaders. But they are just one part of tackling the violence.

By last fall, Atlanta’s homicide pace had slowed down. The city hit 100 homicides on Oct. 26, more than a month later than the previous year, when the 100th case was investigated on Sept. 23, 2023.

Looking ahead

Data released in September by the FBI showed Atlanta’s violent crime rate decreased ahead of the nation’s average in 2023.

Nationwide, homicides dropped nearly 12%, rapes decreased more than 9% and aggravated assault decreased nearly 3% from 2022, according to the FBI report. From 2022 to 2023, homicides dropped 21% percent in Atlanta. Rape cases dropped 51% and aggravated assault fell 16%, according to Atlanta police department data.

Crime was a frequent topic leading up to November’s presidential election. Before his re-election, Donald Trump said Atlanta was “like a killing field” during an August rally. But the crime data didn’t support his claims.

“Everyone thinks that violent crime surged,” national crime analyst Jeff Asher, the cofounder of AH Datalytic, told the AJC. “It didn’t. It went up in 2020 and has fallen every year since.”

The FBI relies on agencies throughout the country to submit data yearly, Asher explained. In 2021, there was “substantial underreporting” of data, he said. In 2023, agencies representing nearly 90% of the U.S. population submitted data.

Even if every law enforcement agency in the country submitted its data, “It doesn’t change the trend,” Asher said.

November was the deadliest month in Atlanta in 2024, with police called to investigate 17 homicides, more than double the six cases worked in October. By December, the number dropped to eight.

On Dec. 29 at 11:30 p.m., 19-year-old Daren Lamont VanArsdale II became Atlanta’s final homicide victim of the year, No. 127.

“Monte” was shot multiple times on Washington Avenue, and when officers arrived, he was facedown in the grass. The 2024 graduate of Westlake High School wanted to become a personal trainer. But he died from his injuries at Grady Memorial Hospital.

“Monte loved working out and everything about being in the gym,” his family wrote in his obituary. “He had the heart of a lion and pushed everyone around him to be better.”

While arrests had been made in just over 78% of 2024 homicides in Atlanta by mid-January, his case remains under investigation.

Atlanta city leaders, while grateful for any decrease in crime, know the work must continue, and they urge the public to do its part to help with the ongoing efforts. It’s work that never ends, according to Lopez, the crime researcher.

“Crime is a problem, and a problem can be improving, but it’s still a problem,” he said.

CITY OF ATLANTA HOMICIDES

2024: 127

2023: 135

2022: 171

2021: 161

2020: 157

2019: 99

2018: 88

2017: 80

2016: 111

2015: 87

Source: Atlanta Police Department data