They’re early-morning criminals, helping themselves to high-end cars and other items by holding rightful owners at gunpoint, according to Atlanta police. Investigators now believe four carjackings and two armed robberies in the Midtown area over the past three days are likely related, and the city’s police department is pooling resources to find those responsible, a deputy chief said Wednesday.
“We’re very concerned because these individuals are armed,” Deputy Chief Jeff Glazier said during an afternoon press conference. “And during one of the incidents, they fired their weapon at the victim.”
All of the crimes have occurred in the morning between 5 and 7 a.m. in the Midtown and south Buckhead area within a relatively tight radius, and the latest two crimes happened Wednesday, according to Carlos Campos, Atlanta police spokesman. Three Infinitis, a Toyota 4Runner and an Audi have all been stolen during the carjackings, and one of the vehicles was later recovered, police said.
No injuries have been reported, but two shots were fired during one of the incidents.
“Clearly these suspects don’t have a moral compass,” Glazier said. “These are not crimes we see very often in the city of Atlanta.”
The victims report between two and four men at each crime, but because they are wearing ski masks, only limited descriptions have been provided to police. Police say the men are likely between the ages of 20 and 30.
The string of crimes began Monday at approximately 5:30 a.m., when police were called to Montgomery Ferry Road in northeast Atlanta. A man told police that as he was returning to his vehicle, a man dressed in all black came out of the bushes with a handgun. The suspect pointed the gun at the victim and demanded his keys, according to police.
As the victim dropped the keys, another man dressed in black appeared and both suspects drove away in the victim’s silver 2013 Toyota 4Runner, police said.
Around 6 a.m. Monday, officers were called to Francis Street for another report of a carjacking. The victim told police he was parked in his driveway gathering belongings from his car when two men approached him, according to police. One of the suspects fired two shots toward the victim but missed before the two suspects then left in the victim’s silver Infiniti G25.
Then Wednesday around 6:30 a.m., officers were called to Melante Drive for another carjacking. The victim noticed a silver Infiniti G35 traveling behind his vehicle near the 2000 block of Cheshire Bridge Road, according to police. After pulling into his driveway and getting out of his car, two men exited from the rear of the Infiniti and walked toward him.
Two suspects pointed guns at the man and ordered him to the ground, taking his keys and phone and leaving in the man’s 2015 black Audi A8. The second suspect followed in the Infiniti. The victim told police he believes there were four suspects.
Despite limited details on the suspects’ descriptions, detectives from all over the city are involved in the investigation, Glazier said.
“We’re going to make an arrest. I’m very confident,” he said. “And more than likely when we make an arrest, we’ll find out these individuals have lengthy histories and shouldn’t have been out on the street anyway.”
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