Within the span of about 12 hours Thursday, Atlanta police were called to investigate four shootings throughout the city.
Gunshot victims were discovered at a northwest Atlanta apartment complex, at a strip club, near Piedmont Park and at a busy intersection in southwest Atlanta. None of the shootings were fatal, according to police.
The incidents come amid a surge in violent crime in Atlanta. From May 31 to June 20, 75 people were shot in the city, up from 35 during the same period last year.
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Eleven people were killed during those three weeks, compared to five last year, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported.
The first of Thursday’s shootings was reported just after midnight. A man was shot as he drove through the parking lot of The 500 apartments on Northside Circle in northwest Atlanta.
He told police he was able to keep driving until he reached his own apartment building, where his father rushed outside to help, according to a police report obtained by Channel 2 Action News. He was shot in the back but is expected to survive.
Investigators counted six bullet holes in the side of his Dodge Charger. A passenger in the vehicle was not injured.
No one at the complex saw the shooter, police said in the report.
Then, about 1:45 a.m., another shooting was reported at the Peaches of Atlanta strip club on Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard.
A dancer at the club told police she was performing a dance on the victim when the shooter started arguing with him. The argument escalated into gunfire, according to a police report obtained by the news station.
The victim was found lying in a pool of blood outside the strip club. He was shot multiple times in the leg, according to the report.
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Investigators questioned a man at the scene after the dancer thought she recognized him as the shooter, but he was released after other witnesses cleared him from a lineup. No suspects had been arrested as of Thursday afternoon.
A few hours later, officers responded to another shooting near Piedmont Park. The 29-year-old victim was found shot in the thigh about 3:30 a.m. near the intersection of Piedmont Avenue and 10th Street.
“The victim told police he had been sitting in his car at the location when the suspect, described as dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask, walked up and tried to rob him,” police spokesman Officer Steve Avery told Channel 2.
The victim said he got out of his car and tried to walk away before he was shot. The gunman then ran off, according to police.
The victim was being treated Thursday at a hospital.
The fourth shooting took place about noon. According to police, two victims were found shot in the legs inside an overturned red Jaguar at the intersection of Arthur Langford Parkway and Campbellton Road.
They were removed from the vehicle and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where they were said to be stable.
Witnesses at the scene told investigators the shots came from a black SUV, Avery said. That vehicle was gone before police arrived.
All four of the Thursday incidents remain under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to come forward.
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.
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