Six teenagers are recovering after drive-by shootings minutes apart Wednesday night in two Atlanta neighborhoods.
Five minutes elapsed between the three shootings, one in southeast Atlanta’s Lakewood Heights neighborhood, which also injured an adult, and two in a neighborhood south of Campbellton Road near the former Fort McPherson. All seven victims were stable when they were taken to hospitals, according to Atlanta police.
“The cases are still being investigated, but so far no connection has been found,” department spokesman Officer Steve Avery told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday morning.
The first call to dispatch came in at 10:40 p.m. from Lakewood Heights. When officers arrived at the corner of Jonesboro Road and Lethea Street, they found two teenage boys suffering gunshot wounds, Atlanta police Capt. David Wilson told Channel 2 Action News from the scene. A third adult victim was taken to a hospital before the officers arrived.
The three were walking down the street when a car pulled up next to them and someone began shooting, Wilson said. No description of the vehicle or the suspects was provided.
“There may be some cameras, but obviously the investigators are following up to see what footage is available and what value that footage would be,” Wilson said at the scene.
Ascension Garcia told the news station he heard at least six rapid gunshots and ran outside his house to investigate. Crime in the neighborhood is a concern, he said.
“We care about this place,” Garcia told Channel 2. “We want to be here, and we want it to be safe for us. I know that this area is worth it, and we deserve to be protected, for sure.”
Fives miles away in southwest Atlanta’s Adams Park, gunfire was reported at 10:43 p.m. at two separate locations. Officers arriving in the 2000 block of Delowe Drive learned two more boys were shot as they walked down the street, police said in a statement.
A few blocks down the road, at the corner of Delowe and Alison Court, yet another drive-by shooting injured another two boys. As in the first two shootings, they were walking down the street when they were injured, and the vehicle fled the scene, according to police.
No descriptions of suspects or vehicles were released in the two southwest Atlanta incidents.
All three shootings remain under investigation. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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