Atlanta police Thursday were investigating the shootings of four people inside a van that pulled up to the front of the Marriott Marquis hotel overnight.
Officers responding to a persons shot call at the hotel on Peachtree Center Avenue about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday found a white Mercedes van with New Jersey license plates that had several bullet holes on the driver’s side and on the rear door, according to an Atlanta police incident report released to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday morning.
“Several victims were lying down on the floor inside the hotel and in the driveway of the hotel,” the report states.
The wounded were identified as Akeem Lee, who was shot in the right leg, Gabriel Adesamya, who was shot in the left arm, Shereen Valentino, who was shot in the lower back, and Rapheal Acosta, who was shot in the hip and arm.
Police said the victims told investigators that they were on Edgewood Avenue, en route to the hotel from an event. As they approached a traffic light, they heard gunshots and began to duck, according to the incident report. Lee said the shots came from “out of nowhere,” and Adesamya told police that he did not know why they were being fired upon.
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The victims were all taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. Their conditions were not available Thursday afternoon, but Channel 2 Action News reported that none of the victims sustained life-threatening wounds.
Overnight, detectives could be seen collecting at least nine shell casings from along Auburn Avenue, which is near the shooting scene. According to Channel 2, a large patch of broken glass littered Auburn Avenue in front of Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Channel 2 reported that according to investigators, the victims were entertainers who had performed at a club on Edgewood Avenue and may have had a dispute with the shooter.