A man was killed Monday afternoon after gunfire broke out at a troubled northwest Atlanta apartment complex, police said.
Atlanta police said they got a call around 4:25 p.m. about a person shot at The Vue at Harwell on Harwell Road, not far from I-285 and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
When officers arrived, they found a man, identified as 33-year-old Vaughn Leard, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. A motive is unclear and police have not said what led to the shooting, or if any arrests have been made.
The Vue at Harwell, formerly known as Daron Village, is among 275 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
Since 2017, the complex has been the site of five homicides and more than three dozen aggravated assaults, as well as sex crimes and other felonies. It has also racked up more than 150 code complaints, and in July 2022 the city announced the complex was placed on a list of properties to be targeted for chronic crime and condition problems.
The apartments are also located about a half-mile from where three suspects are accused of chasing and shooting an 11-year-old boy earlier this month. On Monday, police released surveillance footage appearing to show those suspects each pulling out a handgun and shooting at the boy, who tried to hide by a laundromat and tire shop in the 3000 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Jan. 14. The shots were fired from the sidewalk and within a few feet from drivers on the road, one of whom was seen making a U-turn to escape the chaos, the footage showed.
Police said the Harwell Road shooting remains under investigation.
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