2 officers, multiple people targeted in 3 shootings
By: Chelsea Prince, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA, GA – Police responded to call after call of gunfire during a violent night in Atlanta.
No one was killed, but several were injured in three separate incidents in neighborhoods across the city.
In the first call on Osborne Street in southwest Atlanta, two undercover officers asked for backup after someone with a rifle opened fire on their unmarked patrol car.
The officers’ car was hit twice when the shooting started about 9:30 p.m. Monday, but no one was injured. A neighbor told Channel 2 Action News he heard as many as 40 gunshots as the officers were forced to drive away for their safety.
Police were still on scene Tuesday morning searching for the gunman after an overnight SWAT standoff at a home in the 1100 block of Osborne Street. Six people left the residence on their own, police spokesman Officer Jarius Daugherty told AJC.com.
“We are in the process of determining the appropriate charges for all individuals involved,” he said.
When SWAT finally entered the home about 3 a.m. Tuesday, they found it unoccupied and recovered a number of guns and suspected drugs, according to Channel 2.
Early Tuesday, police in southeast Atlanta were called to the Trestletree Village Apartments in the 900 block of Confederate Court.
Three people said they were hit by gunfire on the railroad tracks behind the apartments about 12:45 a.m., police told Channel 2.
Two men were found with gunshot wounds. One of the victims, 21-year-old Shyheim Weddle, had outstanding warrants and was taken into custody at Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for a chest wound. The other man’s foot was grazed by a bullet and he refused to go to the hospital.
Both are expected to recover, police said. A third man thought he was shot but was actually injured while trying to run away from the hail of bullets, Daugherty said.
None have cooperated with the investigation, he said. Investigators think the shooter fired toward the tracks from a distance. Less than an hour later, four people were shot on Broad Street in downtown Atlanta. One person was taken to a hospital when authorities arrived, and three others showed up at the Grady emergency room, Daugherty said.
The four victims, who were all in stable condition Tuesday, told police someone fired shots from a passing vehicle just after 1:40 a.m. Some described it as a white vehicle, while one said it was a silver SUV. One man said he was sitting on a sidewalk in the 90 block of Broad Street when he was shot in his arm.
He stayed on scene until police arrived, Daugherty said. A woman took herself to Grady after she was shot in her leg and wrist while walking down the street. Two other men were walking together to a nearby bus stop when the gunfire erupted.
They were both hit in the arm, and one took a bullet to his leg. Both sides of Broad Street were shut down while investigators were on the scene, which was cleared quickly.
Thirteen shell casings were collected along with some playing cards, police told Channel 2. Investigations into all three overnight incidents continue.
At this time, it does not appear that any of these shootings are related,” Daugherty said.
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