The early-morning stabbing death Thursday inside Piedmont Park is the first in at least two decades, park officials said.
Atlanta police continued to investigate the murder Thursday evening.
"To our knowledge, in the last 20 years the [Piedmont Park] Conservancy has operated, no one has ever been murdered inside the park," Conservancy president and CEO Yvette Bowden said in a statement.
The victim, who was in his early 40s, was stabbed in the chest during a 1:45 a.m. robbery attempt near the park's lake, Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows said.
"We're questioning a couple of witnesses, but don't have any significant leads," Meadows said.
The victim's name was being withheld until relatives could be notified.
While Bowden on Thursday noted steps the park has taken to ensure safety -- like hiring additional security, adding extra lights and controlling shrubbery overgrowth -- she said the park was officially closed at the hour the stabbing occurred.
"Piedmont Park, and all City of Atlanta parks, are closed between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.," she said. "It is important for everyone to adhere to the park's operating hours."
Another man was stabbed just 15 minutes after the park stabbing Thursday morning at Juniper and 6th streets, a few blocks south of Piedmont Park.
That man was hospitalized with wounds that Meadows said were not believed to be life-threatening.
"We haven't ruled out that they could have been the victims of the same person," Meadows said.
Although Atlanta police records indicate a decrease in crime in the city, Midtown residents have mixed feelings.
"We're feeling very comfortable with public safety issues in Midtown," said Midtown Alliance CEO Susan Mendheim.
She credited partnerships with police and private security firm Midtown Blue for promoting those feelings.
But Randall Cobb, chair of the Midtown Neighbors Association's safety committee, challenged police assertion of reduced crime, despite acknowledging seeing some decrease in crime in his area.
"Crime has not gone down in the city, no matter what the city says they're doing," noting a spike in Midtown break-ins and armed robberies since 2007.
"It's organized crime. These are not crackheads looking for a quick turnaround. These guys are moving into a neighborhood and hitting it with everything they have."
-- Staff writers Katie Leslie and Marcus K. Garner contributed to this report.
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