Police are investigating after four people were struck by gunfire in two separate shootings across downtown Atlanta on Saturday night.
The shootings occurred over a span of four hours, leaving two teenagers and a female bystander injured in the Hotel District. Later that evening, about a half mile away, a man approached and attempted to steal the Taser from a Georgia State University officer near campus after being shot in an undisclosed location.
Officers were called just after 6 p.m. to the first shooting in the 200 block of Peachtree Street. At the scene, they found a 15-year-old, a 16-year-old and a female bystander each suffering from a gunshot wound.
The victims, whose names were not released, were alert and breathing when taken to the hospital, police said. A motive is unclear and no arrests have been made.
At about 10 p.m., a 25-year-old man was found shot near GSU’s campus, more than a week after students and officials spoke out over frustrations about recurring violence in the downtown Atlanta area.
Atlanta police say the victim was struck by gunfire in an unknown location and walked over to a GSU officer situated in the parking lot of a RaceTrac gas station on Piedmont Avenue that closed last month due to safety and financial reasons.
The officer had been posted there to help with the recent violence near campus, Georgia State University police Chief Anthony Coleman said. After banging on the patrol vehicle, police said the injured man, who was not a student, got into scuffle with the officer and tried to take his Taser.
“The officer was able to subdue him, put him in handcuffs. Then at that point, (the man) said he was shot,” Coleman told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The victim had been struck in the buttocks and was found just before 10 p.m., Atlanta police said. He was conscious and breathing when he was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Coleman said university police had two officers stationed in the area on Saturday night, one in the parking lot of the closed RaceTrac and another parked outside. Both of them did not hear any gunshots, Coleman said, and blood and shell casings were not found in the area.
“He could have got shot in Augusta, Savannah, who knows where,” Coleman added. “But he just came to that location.”
The incident comes about two weeks after students, parents and GSU’s student body president discussed the recent violence and offered solutions after 21-year-old Javare Shakir-Fulford was fatally shot near the gas station on Feb. 25.
GSU President M. Brian Blake previously said the university would work with Atlanta police to find a way to make the campus more secure after 19-year-old De’Asia Hart was killed in an October shooting that saw three others struck by gunfire. They eventually added more office monitoring and cameras, reoriented building entrances and provided staff training, Blake said.
Following last month’s shooting and RaceTrac closure, the company said it would continue to provide security and employees would be offered employment at other stores. Blake said the university would communicate with the owners of the land that occupies the RaceTrac and other businesses.
“As the store closes, it is imperative that the lot is secured, the owners take responsibility and we remain vigilant in our efforts to continue to improve the area,” he added. “We will be working hard to help ensure future use of that parcel is more compatible with a college campus and the experience that our students and campus community members should have.”
Police did not say whether the man who fought with the officer will face any charges. His identity was not released.
No other details were provided for the shootings on Saturday, which remain under investigation.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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