Frustrations about crime and safety have been brewing among East Point residents as their tight-knit community mourns the recent loss of two neighbors who were gunned down.
For many, the ringing of gunshots every night has become commonplace. Waking up to shattered car windows is just another morning. Neighbors claim that the lack of police presence in the area and accountability for crime is making the city an attractive destination for criminals.
During a police town hall Thursday evening, neighbors cried through their losses and expounded their fears of becoming victims in hopes of law enforcement and city officials bettering the community.
“Instead of the East Point citizens to feel afraid, I think it’s time that we make the criminals afraid to come to East Point. I think it’s time that we stand up,” Anne Pope told neighbors from the center of the room.
New police Chief Shawn Buchanan assured residents that he hears their concerns and is actively working toward making sure they are safe. The department now has every officer patrolling the city, including Buchanan himself, and is working on recruiting more, he said.
“I want more officers on the street. As you’ve noticed, I put everybody on patrol. The reason I did that is because before I’m the chief, I’m a police officer,” Buchanan said.
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
East Point residents are mourning the recent losses of Knox Panter on Dec. 10 and Juan Lopez on Nov. 26, and they are afraid they will themselves become victims of a violent crime.
Opal Baker has lived in Jefferson Park for 12 years and lives just two blocks away from Panter’s home. While she still walks the neighborhood almost every day, being so close to the crime scene has put her on edge.
Crime wasn’t as big of an issue when Baker moved into the neighborhood, but with a handful of first-hand experiences and feeling as if officials don’t listen, Baker wants something to change.
Soon after she moved into her home, it was burglarized. A few years later, she said someone kicked in her front door and then ran off after coming face-to-face with her dogs. More recently, the crime has turned violent, according to Baker, who hears “rapid-fire gunshots” from her home often. Tired of repeating herself and begging for officials to increase patrolling and surveillance in the area, Baker said she still thinks East Point can make a turnaround.
“I think that residents get tired of fighting for the things that we envision, and that leadership claims that they envision for our city, but do nothing to push forward or do very little to push forward,” Baker said by phone.
Credit: Caroline Silva
Credit: Caroline Silva
For Jennifer Cobb, who has been living in East Point since 2005, crime in the area has seen a spike because residents have “made it a safe harbor for these criminals.” Living a few blocks away from Panter’s home, Cobb said it could have been her husband who was shot and killed since he has occasionally run outside after hearing a noise. She has also gone to the Wells Fargo ATM where Lopez was gunned down. It never occurred to her that someone could be killed in such a visible spot and so early in the day.
“We’re not safe. And I have friends who don’t live in East Point and they don’t have neighbors getting gunned down on their lawn. They don’t hear gunshots at night,” Cobb said.
The grandmother of 11-year-old Tyrell Sims, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in November 2020, is still adamantly looking for justice. The room turned heavy when Theresa Booker began speaking and Buchanan looked straight into her eyes as she retold Sims’ death. After a year with no arrest, Booker felt like it had become her job to find answers, she told neighbors. She expressed hope that the new chief would be the one to close the case.
“I’m out there doing their job. I’m out there patrolling the area — going in areas I’m not supposed to go in because I want justice for my grandson,” Booker said to Buchanan with tears in her eyes. “But I thank you. And I asked a lot of people about the new chief ... and they said you do a good job, you get stuff done.”
Credit: Daniel Varnado
Credit: Daniel Varnado
East Point police investigated 24 homicides in 2020 and nine so far in 2021, but the gunfire continues throughout the day and night. It has become a running joke among residents to wonder if they heard gunshots or fireworks, neighbors said. But the frustration comes when police don’t respond to a shooting call, according to several residents. When a car got “shot up” in front of Patrice Lewis’ home in the Center Park neighborhood and she didn’t hear one siren coming toward her home after she called 911, she was stunned.
“We live in a neighborhood where shots fired is daily, nightly. We have text messages to neighbors where we’re like, ‘You think it’s a shots fired?’ because we’ve been dismissed so much,” Lewis told the chief with a raised voice. “We don’t want to call and say shots fired to be dismissed.”
The constant gunfire is the reason Alex and Ebere Lima are leaving East Point, they said by phone. Alex Lima came especially close to crime in 2018 when he was leaving the East Point MARTA station to go home around 11 p.m. He dropped to the floor after hearing multiple gunshots. Trying to rush home, he continued hearing gunfire and decided the station was no longer a safe option. After the killing of Knox, who lived nearby, the couple are afraid to walk around the neighborhood and let their two small children enjoy being outdoors.
“All of the crime is getting too close for comfort and that’s truly the scary part,” Ebere Lima said.
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