A weekend of gun violence in Atlanta continued Sunday, turning the Labor Day holiday into an especially deadly one within barely more than 24 hours.
Police are investigating after a valet was fatally shot in Buckhead while trying to stop a car break-in. He was the fifth person to be killed by gunfire across the city since early Saturday, authorities said.
Atlanta police responded around 1:40 a.m. to the 2400 block of Piedmont Road for a person shot call. The area is home to a Longhorn Steakhouse and a parking garage and is a short distance from Uptown Atlanta, previously known as Lindbergh City Center.
At the scene, officers found the valet suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he died. He was identified as 25-year-old Harrison Olvey by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
According to investigators, Olvey was shot while trying to stop a man from breaking into a car. Police said detectives were looking for a person of interest, who is believed to be driving a newer model Kia with tinted windows.
He is considered armed and dangerous, according to the department. Anyone with information on the incident or person of interest is asked to contact Atlanta police.
The other four shootings took place over a 12-hour span Saturday.
At about 1:05 a.m., Atlanta police found a man shot to death near the Thomasville Recreation Center in southeast Atlanta. He was identified as 31-year-old Freddie Lowe by the county medical examiner’s office.
According to investigators, the shooting occurred at a home in the 700 block of Norwood Road, less than a mile from where the victim was located. The suspect, Leverett Hancock, 40, was booked into the Fulton County Jail on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Just two hours later, officers were called to the troubled Fairburn Gordon apartments at 195 Fairburn Road, where they found 44-year-old Theon Elliot fatally shot, according to police. The area is just outside of I-285 in the Adamsville neighborhood of northwest Atlanta.
The apartment complex, which is split into Fairburn Gordon I and II, is among the 275 complexes identified in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation that looked into serious crimes, lax maintenance and other hazards in Atlanta neighborhoods.
From 2017 to 2021, crimes reported by police at 195 Fairburn included 28 aggravated assaults, nine robberies and two rapes. A fatal drive-by shooting occurred there in June 2021. At 213 Fairburn, police reported 26 crimes, including eight aggravated assaults and seven robberies.
Later on Saturday, two separate shootings a few miles apart in northwest Atlanta left a man and a woman dead, authorities said.
At about 10 a.m., police were called to the Magnolia Park apartment complex along Magnolia Way in the Vine City neighborhood. When officers arrived, the found a man who appeared to be shot.
The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition and eventually died. He was identified as 28-year-old Cordale Duncan by the county medical examiner’s office.
Homicide investigators said a person of interest was identified, but no other details were released.
Magnolia Park, which is split into two addresses, was also identified in the AJC’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation. At least 114 crimes, including two homicides, were reported at the Magnolia Way address associated with the complex from 2017 to early February 2022. There were also 22 aggravated assaults, nine robberies and a rape during that span.
About four miles away, police responded to a home in the 900 block of Margaret Place near Westside Park for a person shot call. At the scene, officers found a woman who did not appear to be breathing, police said. The victim, identified as 64-year-old Kathy Mouldr, was taken to a hospital around noon, where she was pronounced dead.
Detectives said they were able to identify a person of interest, who is believed to be a “known acquaintance of the victim.” Police added that they were involved in an argument over eviction.
Investigations into the shootings are ongoing, police said.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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