East Point police are calling for a weekend curfew after two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old became the latest victims of gun violence Saturday night at Camp Creek Marketplace.
The three teenagers were shot about 9 p.m. at the shopping center off Camp Creek Parkway, which has become a hangout spot and the scene of several shootings over the past six months, according to East Point police.
Maj. Shawn Buchanan said it is common for teenagers to see a movie at the nearby AMC Camp Creek 14 theater and then head across the street to linger in the shopping center late into the night.
“We have 250 to 300 children with nothing to do,” he told Channel 2 Action News. “They start being disruptive. Fights may ensue, and people with guns start shooting.”
On Saturday night, witnesses told police the three injured had been walking in the area near America Deli and CamiCakes before the shooting. At some point, a man in a black jacket fired shots into the crowd of people, striking them, a police spokesman said.
One was shot in the arm, one in the leg and one in the shoulder, according to Channel 2. They were taken to a hospital, and their conditions were not provided.
On Jan. 9, a 22-year-old woman was shot inside the AMC theater after she turned around to shush the people sitting behind her. She was able to leave the theater and call for help from a nearby Walgreen’s.
Atlanta police are investigating that incident, as the theater is located in their jurisdiction. They have released surveillance photos of a man and woman believed to be responsible, but no suspects have not been identified.
Buchanan told Channel 2 that East Point police are asking city leaders to enact a 6 p.m. curfew on the weekends. He implored parents to keep their children home.
“The marketplace is not a hangout area,” he said. “It’s a shopping area, so don’t leave your children unattended at the marketplace.”
— Staff writer Chelsea Prince contributed to this article.
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