Atlanta police assured the city’s New Year’s celebrants that they would be out in force Thursday night, while also warning people not to fire guns into the air as the clock strikes midnight.
Despite warnings of terrorist threats in other cities, Deputy Chief of Police Rodney Bryant said “we have no evidence of any significant threats to the city of Atlanta” at the Peach Drop or any other event.
Still, he said the city would increase its police presence, check for incendiary devices and encourage people to alert police if they see anything suspicious.
“Be very vigilant and help us out with anything that appears unusual or out of the norm,” he said.
Bryant said the department is expecting the city’s Peach Drop and other New Year’s events to be crowded. He said people should plan to get downtown early and be patient if it took some time to get into events.
"We understand people will come out and celebrate," he said. "We want people to come out and enjoy themselves."
He encouraged revelers to use MARTA or find designated drivers and not to drink and drive.
Bryant also told people to refrain from shooting guns to celebrate the New Year. Shooting into the air, he said, is almost as dangerous as shooting an individual. It’s a misdemeanor punishable with fines up to $1,000.
It’s not uncommon – though illegal — for guns to be fired to mark the start of a new year.
At least seven people have been shot, two of them fatally, by celebratory New Year’s gunfire in metro Atlanta since 2000.
“We want to make sure the citizens of Atlanta understand that celebratory gunfire is illegal in the city of Atlanta, as well as being dangerous,” Bryant said. “We would hope they would not get involved in celebratory gunfire and would recognize what goes up must come down.”
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