MLK’s home neighborhood needs city’s help to stop violence, leaders say

But neighbors say parts of the area have also developed a reputation as a hotbed for gun violence in recent years. Just recently, four separate shootings left 16 people wounded and a man dead along Edgewood Avenue, where Atlanta police data shows much of the neighborhood’s crime is concentrated.

The chaos is fueled in part by the bustling bar scene and after-hours street parties that tend to ramp-up after businesses have closed, according to locals who say they’re fed up with the violence.

“This neighborhood has always been a beloved community,” Graham said. “But it’s gotten worse since COVID.”

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Nearly a half-dozen others echoed those sentiments in recent days, calling on city officials, namely code enforcement and the police — to do more to keep the corridor safe, especially after hours.

Sarah Oak Kim, co-founder of Our Bar ATL, said she’s pleaded with city officials to do more to protect businesses and patrons along the busy corridor. It’s obvious there needs to be a more visible police presence overnight on the weekends, she said.

“It’s such a precious place and there’s so much history here,” said Kim, who opened the popular bar five years ago just before the pandemic. She said she adores her customers, the locals and the neighboring business owners, many of whom have been there for decades.

“But this keeps happening,” she said of the late-night shootings. “It breaks my heart.”

Kim said some of the violence and street takeovers occur well after her business has closed for the night. She’s also hired off-duty Atlanta police officers in the past, to the tune of between $65 and $75 an hour.

Ahead of last week’s mayhem, city officials had boasted about a recent drop in gun violence across Atlanta, which included a 32% drop in homicides and a 20% reduction in shootings compared to this time last year.

But the combination of youth, unsanctioned alcohol-fueled street gatherings and unfettered access to firearms has made for a deadly combination, said Forrest Coley, who chairs the area’s Neighborhood Planning Unit. The area encompasses Sweet Auburn, Old Fourth Ward, Castleberry Hill and parts of downtown.

“Safety should be a concern for everyone all the time, but we only get the attention when things like this happen,” Coley said.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Dorthey Hurst, who chairs the group’s public safety committee, said it’s important to strike a balance between safety and fun. She acknowledged “you can’t police your way out of everything,” but said the number of people willing to resort to violence over minor disputes and booted cars has gotten out of hand.

“It’s crazy stuff. People have no regard at all for anyone’s life,” Hurst told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They just shoot people.”

She said revamped efforts aimed at tackling blight, cracking down on unruly house parties and going after repeat code violators would likely go a long way toward making the area safer. But that involves more than just law enforcement, she said.

Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari, whose district includes much of Sweet Auburn, said she is working with the mayor’s office and plans to create a task force aimed at quelling the violence. She said she plans to work with small business owners and residents to address the problem of unsanctioned street and house parties in the area.

Those gatherings are illegal under city code, which means enforcement isn’t up to the police, but rather, the city’s planning department, which closes at 5 p.m.

Bakhtiari wants to give police more authority to enforce violations after hours when the parties are happening. It’s something residents say they’ve needed for years.

“This is not a community that needs to be reinvented. It’s a community that needs to be reinvested in,” she said.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

She also said she expects to see additional police officers in the area, especially on weekends.

In a statement, Atlanta police did not address questions about what resources the department has allocated to Edgewood Avenue’s nightlife corridor, but said its commanders monitor crime trends throughout the city and make staffing adjustments as needed.

The 300 and 400 blocks of Edgewood Avenue where the July weekend shootings occurred include a mix of lounges, restaurants, vacant parking lots and a community grocery store where locals tend to congregate day and night.

At Our Bar, located just behind the MARTA streetcar stop, a steady stream of patrons filed in around dinnertime Thursday. It was early, but security guards still checked IDs and guests’ bags at the door.

Outside, the bustling street was lined with cars. A handful of uniformed police officers could be seen at several businesses along the block. Across the street, an open gas station was blocked off to vehicles with yellow tape, apparently a nightly occurrence aimed at keeping drivers from loitering at the pumps.

Tom Boyle, president of the Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association, lives about a mile from where the July 28 shooting occurred.

“I feel like we play whack-a-mole over on Edgewood Avenue,” he said.

Like others, he said a “holistic approach” is needed if city officials and community leaders plan to put a significant dent in the gun violence that has plagued the area for the better part of a decade.

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

On Friday, pastors from all seven churches in the area gathered on the streetcar platform and called for “healing, peace, unity and hope.”

“We’ve got to find some ways to get past where we are killing each other, where we can at least see the humanity in each and every one us.” said Rev. John Vaughn, executive pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church.

On a warm Wednesday afternoon, Hurst, the neighborhood’s public safety chair, strolled the neighborhood from Sweet Auburn’s Municipal Market down toward the streetcar stop adjacent the shooting scene. On the way, she popped into the Purple Door Salon and met with business owner Jamell McDowell.

McDowell, who has run the hair salon for more than two decades, said six of her longtime clients called to check on her after hearing of the shootings.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

She said the constant violence hinders her ability to grow her business. It makes it challenging to to hire new stylists, McDowell said, and some of her clients are hesitant to park on the side streets near her shop.

“I was heartbroken. I’m here trying to get on my feet and here we go. Another year? I mean how long am I going to wait before things turn around?” she said. “That’s why you see buildings being boarded up, because they can’t survive. I mean we need help.”

Marcus Walker, director of the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, said his office works with a network of nonprofit organizations that he calls “front line teams” to immediately respond to violent incidents and diffuse the tension to prevent retaliation. He said tamping down violence takes a community-wide approach.

He said recent cuts to funding have hurt both his office and the nonprofits he works with.

The recent shootings happened about three blocks from the scene of another high-profile shooting in 2020 that left two people dead and more than a dozen others injured during Fourth of July celebrations. Three people were indicted in that case, but prosecutors dropped one man’s charges in late 2022. A second was acquitted in March2024 and the third, Jerry Emile, still faces murder charges, case records show. His case is expected to go to trial later this year.

Kim, the co-owner of Our Bar, said much more could be done to improve the area. She said she feels the neighborhood is often overlooked by the city officials, saying it rarely gets the same attention and resources as other parts of town.

“I feel Edgewood kind of comes off like it’s a burden for the city,” she said. “They lump us in with the discarded and the forgotten and the displaced.”